Big brother Sephy
by TheLadyPendragon
Summary: 18 year old Sephiroth couldn't be happier when his deadbeat mom leaves. However, now he's got 3 babies depending solely on him and definitely no time to fall in love with the new boy, Cloud. Good thing his friends are around to help. ChibiSHM. HIATUS!
1. Abandonment

Big Brother Sephy

A/N: Hello readers, I hope you enjoy this little story I thought of! It just came to me today and I _had _to write it! I hope you enjoy it too! Sorry for oc's or grammar problems(I'm using WordPad b/c my Microsoft word locked me out)

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, though I have a copy of nearly every game and I have AC! Yay me!

Warnings: yaoi and bad language and possible Ooc-ness (don't like, don't read! But don't you dare flame this-"like OMG they r totally teh ghey! FLAME!"-because I won't care! Feel free to leave me tips and criticisms though so I can make my writing better :)

Story summary: Sephiroth is 18 years old and he's a brilliant student with a bright future ahead of him, no thanks to his mom, Jenova, who is depressed and drunk 24/7. He really hates her and wants to move out but if he does then he knows that his three baby brothers won't have a chance in life. He loves them dearly and they love him too so he doesn't want to put their futures or their lives in jeopardy by leaving them alone with their psychotic mother. One day Jenova disappears and doesn't come back. What is our dear Sephy to do? He decides to adopt his brothers but it's hard raising the three babies alone, so his best friend Zack comes to help. That's all good and well but then his new friend, Squall, who is Loz's new instructor brings a surprise with him; his shy, sweet, angelic cousin Cloud Strife who has just moved in next-door and is starting at Sephy's school in a week. What is a silver haired man to do when he's afflicted with abandonment, children, and _love_? Tune in to find out!

Character ages:

Sephy: 18

Aeris: 18

Zack: 17

Squall: 17

Cloud: 16

Loz: 5

Yazoo: 3

Kadaj: 1(awwwww he is just too KAWAII)

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Chapter one: Abandonment

Sephiroth woke up when the sun blinked through his curtains. He looked at his alarm clock and swore, it was 7:50, at this rate he would be late for the first day of the new school year. And of course his god damned mother would never think to wake him up. At this minute she herself was probably drunk off her ass, asleep.

"Shit!" He swore as he made his way to the shower, careful not to step on any toys his younger brothers may have left out on the floor. He showered quickly, dressed in his usual form-fitting, black leather and went downstairs to the kitchen. At this rate he could only grab a granola-bar for breakfast before Zack, his best friend, arrived to drive to school with him. Zack only lived across the street and they drove to school together because Zack's parents had deemed him too irresponsible to drive. He and Zack had been best friends since Sephiroth had moved into the neighborhood with his mother, which was way before his siblings were born. Even though their personalities were nothing alike, they had stuck close together since way back then. When Sephiroth made it downstairs he saw his little brothers sitting around the table and Loz, the eldest of his younger siblings, crying. Sephiroth sighed on the inside, Loz was always crying about one thing or another, but he had to play the role of the dutiful older brother so he smiled gently at the small boy and placed a hand atop the boy's spiky, silver hair.

"What's the matter Loz?" he asked kindly to the five year old even though he already had an idea of what it was. You see, Loz had recently turned five and Sephiroth had decided-because his mother was an irresponsible bitch-that his little brother was ready for kindergarten. He didn't want to rush the little boy but he wanted him to have a bright future, so he got the boy ready for it by signing him up for a prestigious school in Balamb called Garden, run by the young genius, Squall Leonhart. He met up with the boy who was a bit younger than himself and arranged everything for Loz. Squall was a little quiet but he seemed responsible and there were no denying the positive reviews that the Garden had gotten so it was fine.

"Loz-_ni _doesn't wanna go to the flower place, _Oni-tama_! He say he don't like school cuz he's gonna miss _Oka-san_!" Yazoo, his three year old brother added boredly, while Loz continued blubbering and Kadaj, the youngest, giggled and threw a cheerio at the crying boy and caused him to cry louder.

"Kadaj! That wasn't nice!" He chided gently, knowing the one year old didn't understand what he was saying, but Kadaj was smart and understood his tone. The year old stopped laughing and pouted causing Sephiroth to smile before turning his attention back to the wailing Loz.

"Now Loz, you are a big boy now and this is special!" He said gently, rubbing the top of the boys head in a comforting manner. The boy only wailed louder and sniffled.

"I don't wanna go! I'll miss _Oka-san_, and Yazoo and Kadaj!" He wailed sadly, and Sephiroth understood though he didn't know _why _anyone would miss _that_ woman. But then again, he wanted his brothers to form strong opinions so he said nothing on the matter of their mother.

"I know little one, I know! This is hard, don't you think I miss you guys everyday when I leave for school? I do, I love you all! But I'm proud of _you_, very proud because you're getting so big and you're starting school" He said truthfully, smiling at the boy kindly. Loz looked up at him with too bright eyes, shining with tears.

"Really, _Oni-tama_? You mean it? _You _are proud of _me_?" He asked softly, the sobbing over for now. Sephiroth smiled as he bent down to the boy's eye level.

"Of course I'm proud! How could I not be? You are _too _brave Loz!" He told the boy softly hugging him closer.

"Too brave." Yazoo agreed solemnly, for neither he nor Kadaj had ever been to _school _before, only Sephiroth had and now Loz would be following him.

"_TOOOOOOO!_" Kadaj screeched cheerfully, wanting to be included in the conversation. Sephiroth smiled at his brothers and Loz managed a watery smile.

"I am?" He asked, proud of himself if his _Oni-tama _was proud of him. He could go to that flower-school if it was true.

"Yes! Now chin up, Leonhart-_senpai _will be here to pick you up soon so dry your face! You don't want him to think you're a cry-baby do you?" Sephiroth told him, somewhat impatient because Zack and/or Squall would be arriving soon. Loz shook his head no and wiped his face.

"Good boy! He's going to look at you and think what a big boy you are!" Sephiroth told him cheerfully as he went to finally grab his breakfast and hurriedly eat it. He was infinitely happy that Yazoo was responsible enough to atleast make cereal for the other two if he was ever running late, it was a blessing to know that he didn't have to worry about their breakfasts on top of everything else. They made small talk-he didn't even bother asking where their supposed _mother_ was, dreading the answer-until the door bell rang. He opened it up to see a grinning Zack and an uncomfortable looking Squall, he felt sympathy for the poor genius as Zack was a little difficult at times.

"Hey Seph, who is this guy? I saw him coming up your walk so I decided to introduce myself. He was kinda grumbly and quiet though, but I guess that kinda personality would make you guys best friends. W..wait a sec...He's not your best friend is he? Cuz I thought _I_ was your best bud! I am aren't I? Oooooooooooooh Sephy come on! What'd I do? I promise I'll stop annoying you---" Zack said, talking a mile a minute. Sephiroth rubbed his temples and saw that Squall was doing the same.

"Zack, shut up! This is Squall, he is the Commander of Loz's new school. Remember I told you he would be starting today? God, you are such an idiot!" He explained to Zack who stopped wailing and smiled at Squall. Sephiroth sweatdropped, Zack was such a drama-king. Currently said drama-king introduced himself to Squall before charging past Sephiroth into the house to greet the children, leaving Sephiroth to Squall.

"Leonhart-_san _thanks for coming to pick up Loz. I'll get him ready, thanks again!" He said impassively, though he _was _grateful to the young Commander. Squall rubbed his head awkwardly but nodded.

"It's not a problem Hojo-_san_; I have great expectations for your younger brother." He said softly, he was a soft-spoken boy and Sephiroth respected him for that. Afterall, there was only so much talking you can take from hanging around a guy like Zack, after that soft-spoken was a blessing. Sephiroth invited Squall in and went inside to see Zack bear-hugging his little brothers while all three screeched:

"Zacky-_tan_" Loudly. He pried Loz out of Zack's grip and placed the child on the floor gently before going to bring the boy's tiny backpack and lunchbox and giving it to him.

"Now Loz, this is Leonhart-_senpai_, he's going to take you to school okay?" He told the boy, rubbing his head affectionately. Loz nodded bravely as he went over and introduced himself to Squall. Sephiroth saw that the young Commander had suddenly adapted a gentle look to his face while he talked to the boy so he went to the other two children. Zack had freed them from the hug and was now leaning by the door waiting for him.

"Yazoo, is O_ka-san_ home? If not I'll call Aeris over." He asked the small boy, who glanced up at him calmly. Sometimes he wondered if Yazoo had asperser's, since he rarely showed emotions, but it was a blessing since he was so responsible.

"No _Oni-tama_, she's not here." Yazoo said calmly, pushing more cheerios into Kadaj's mouth. Sephiroth once again cursed the bitch's irresponsibility but put on a happy facade for his brothers.

"Then shall I call Aeris over?" He asked them, even though he already knew the answer. Aeris was the owner of a small flower shop near their house and she loved the boys. They loved her too because she gave them the love that their mother didn't, for that Sephiroth was grateful. Kadaj shrieked chanting:

"Yay, yay, yay!" while Yazoo smiled and nodded. Sephiroth called Aeris and the woman came over, by that time he and Zack had to go, not to mention Squall and Loz.

"Thanks again for coming so abruptly Aeris!" He said to the woman with appreciation. She only smiled and shook her head before gesturing to him that he should leave. He and Zack exited with Squall and Loz on their heels. Once outside, the four males went their seperate ways. Zack and Sephiroth arrived to school just in time and hurried to class for another monotonous day.

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Sephiroth looked at the clock for what felt like the tenth time in a minute, it was still 2:55. He felt like the clock was mocking him by not going up that one final minute. He glared at it angrily, normally he was very attentive in class because he had to maintain his GPA but today he had a bad feeling. He knew it was odd because he hadn't forgotten anything and the kids were safe with Aeris but he still had a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and if there was one person he trusted, it was himself. He thought that he was possibly nervous about it being Loz's first day in school but Loz was a good boy and Sephiroth new he would be alright. It had to be something though, that was making him panic since he rarely ever did, so he couldn't wait to go home and check on things. By the end of the day even Zack could tell how anxious Sephiroth was feeling and he wasn't exactly known for his empathy.

"What's the matter bud? I saw you looking at the clock, why the rush to go home? You think you're mother came home and committed murder-suicide?" Zack asked, joking. Sephiroth glared at him for his morbid thoughts. He smacked the other boy on the head, hard, very, very, _hard_.

"Don't even joke about that Zack! Don't you think I'm worried enough when I leave them with _her_? Alone would be better!" He grumbled angrily and anxiously too because he was already worried. Zack rubbed the steadily forming bump on his head sheepishly.

"Sorry! I was just kidding, you know? I love those kids ya know?" Zack said truthfully, and Sephiroth knew. He remembered how happy Zack always was around his younger brothers because Zack was an only child and was always lonely when he and Sephiroth went their seperate ways. They became even more seperated when they entered school because of their age differences. Being that Sephiroth was a year older than him, Zack only shared one class with him and that was SOLDIER prep, as both boys wanted to be in SOLDIER when they got older and both were well on their way too. But after school Zack spent as much time as possible with Sephiroth and his family and Sephiroth could honestly say that he counted Zack as part of said family.

"I know Zack, I know. I'm just worried, my instincts tell me something's wrong." He told the other boy, growling at his own helplessness to know what was going on at home. Zack smiled at him kindly, he may always have a brash and care free demeanor but he was also a good friend who understood his buddy's moods more than anyone else.

"It's okay, I get it man! Don't worry! Let's get ya home so you can relax, I'm sure everything is fine!" He said reassuringly, trying to comfort his friend who accepted it gracefully as they rushed toward Sephiroth's car.

"You're right! Let's get home!" Sephiroth said as he started the vehicle and speeded towards home.

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When Sephiroth got home the house was dark with all the lights turned off, it looked like nobody was home. Sephiroth turned on all the lights, looking around for any sign of Aeris or his brothers but didn't catch sight of them, which was worrisome.

"Aeris? Yazoo? Kadaj? Where are you guys?" He shouted to the room in general in a worried tone. As expected, no one answered him back. Sephiroth began to feel dread pooling in the pit of his stomach, where the hell were they?

"Um Seph, buddy? Where is everyone?" Zack asked nervously, worried about their missing loved ones. Sephiroth turned back to look at him and Zack could see real panic in the usually cool and collected boy's face.

"I don't know! If Aeris took them out she would have been back by now! Zack, where could they be?" He said in a panicky tone of voice. Zack immediately set out to comfort his friend.

"Don't worry! They're probably fine, Aeris is a responsible girl!" Zack said comfortingly, looking serious which he rarely did. Sephiroth looked at him and was sincerely comforted. He forced himself to calm down and rethink the situation. Aeris really _was _a responsible girl and would take care of Yazoo and Kadaj, there was a possibility that she took the two out since it was a very nice day. He forced himself to relax and took a seat on the couch, beckoning a confused looking Zack over to sit by him.

"Let's wait it out, I'm sure Aeris will be back soon or Leonhart will drop off Loz and we can take it from there." He told Zack calmly and Zack nodded quickly, hoping that Sephiroth was as right as he usually was about things. Both of the friends waited for a while, a nervous silence between them as both were worried until the doorbell rang. Sephiroth quickly opened the door only to have a small, silver haired missile launched at his chest.

"_Oni-tama_! I missed you!" Loz said, snuggling into his older brother's chest. Sephiroth smiled, no longer worried about atleast one of his brothers. He rubbed the top of the boy's head affectionately.

"I missed you too Loz. How was your first day of school?" He asked the boy, looking around for Squall and catching him with an awkward look on his face. He acknowledged the other boy with a nod and recieved one in return.

"I HAD FUN! I made some friends! My teacher, Matwyn is really nice! Leonhart-_senpai _and his friends came to class and taught us some fun stuff! He wasn't grumpy at all once I got to know him! We even played together! Neat, huh? And I---" Loz told his brother, talking a mile-a-minute. Sephiroth nodded, only half listening to the conversation, and turned to Squall.

"How was he? Do you think he did well for his first day?" He asked the young Commander who blew a chocolate colored lock from his eye before responding.

"Mmm well he was fine, if a little too emotional. As you know, I run the Garden so I wasn't with him all day but he was in Mat-I mean Edea Cramer's class. I trust her very much, she was my foster mother you know, so I'm sure he'll be fine." Squall answered softly, filling Sephiroth-who he was pretty sure was Loz's guardian-in. Sephiroth nodded, listening closely to see if there was anything he could help Loz with.

"I see, I trust your choices Commander. Is their anything else?" He asked the other boy. Squall nodded slowly.

"Yeah well, I noticed that Loz is so far a very good student in the Garden. Maybe someday he may even be part of the elite SEED class of Garden, I think we'll work him towards that, what do you think?" He asked Sephiroth as the child really did have potential and SEED was the best of the best. Sephiroth's eyes widened and he patted the boy on the head happily.

"Really? That's great! Of course I'll work with Loz at home a little extra to work him towards SEED." He told the Commander who nodded before turning to leave, giving a little wave to Loz who waved back enthusiastically.

"Goodbye Leonhart-_senpai_!" He yelled loudly to the still slowly walking Squall who went over to his ride and drove away, leaving the brothers alone. Loz turned to Sephiroth, tilting his head cutely in a confused manner.

"Where are Zoo-_tan _and Daj-_tan_? Where is Aeris?" He asked Sephiroth, wondering where his siblings and Aeris were. That made all of Sephiroth's worries speed right back to him and he cringed, trying to think of a good explanation to tell his brother.

"They'll be back soon! Aeris took them out so let's wait for them, okay? Look Zacky-_tan's_ here!" He told the boy reassuringly, using the last part as a distraction which worked well enough.

"ZACKY-_TAN_!" Loz screeched excitedly, running into the other boy's open arms. Sephiroth sighed and waited.

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It was another hour after the boys started waiting that Aeris finally came back with the two little ones in tow. She popped her head in through the door nervously, and Sephiroth saw that she had a child in each arm.

"_Oh_, Sephiroth you're here, thank goodness!" She said sounding a little surprised but happy none the less. Sephiroth nodded slowly as she put the two babes down and they scampered over to their other brother.

"Where were you Aeris?" He asked slowly but firmly, not trying to sound too worried. She smiled at him nervously before nodding.

"Well, I was home with the boys and we were playing when suddenly your mother came home. Oh, Sephiroth it was horrible! She was drunk and she smelled of beer and she was yelling and throwing! I was _so_ scared that she might hurt somebody! And then she threw her bottle at me and told me to get out, so I took the boys and left!"

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I was sitting around, playing with the boys. Yazoo was making a block tower and I was trying to stop Kadaj from kicking it over, it was only about an hour after you left! Suddenly Jenova barges into the house, she looked a little sick and I wasn't sure what was wrong with her. Then she got closer and I _smelled _her! Oh god, she was drunk! I asked her if she was feeling okay and she looked at me so angrily! I was scared that she would hurt me or the boys! Then she cursed at me!

"BITCH!"

Oh I didn't know what to do! She stumbled towards me for a bit and then she _threw _the bottle at my head! I ducked just in time! She yelled for me to get out so I took the boys and went to my flower shop for a while.

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"Oh Sephiroth I hope you aren't mad! I just thought it would be safer in my shop! I'm sorry! Gomen, Gomen!" Aeris told him frantically even though he personally felt that his mother was to blame for everything. After all, she was the one who got knocked up and then dumped with four children to take care of. Sephiroth could take care of himself now but Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz were still children, that meant that she should be loving and responsible-like Aeris-towards them-not drunk off her ass! Aeris was a good woman so he comforted her immediately.

"I'm deeply sorry about this Aeris! I mean it! I hope this doesn't scare you away from us because I know that the boys love you!" He told her gently, honestly hoping she didn't leave. His mother had ruined _his_ life enough, no need to ruin the boys' too. She looked completely surprised.

"Oh, Sephiroth! How could you think that? I love you and the boys and would be happy to be a part of your family for as long as you'll have me!" She said pulling him into a hug which he awkwardly returned. Zack stood by sheepishly rubbing his head while the three children watched wide eyed until the cheerful boy decided that he had enough of watching from the sidelines.

"AWWW KAWAII! Come on chibis, let's join in!" Zack squealed, sounding like a fan girl as he jumped into the hug. Said chibis soon joined in and Sephiroth was left with a warm, fuzzy feeling in his stomach. 'These people, they really _are _my family!' he thought to himself with wonder as he squeezed them all close in his arms.

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It was a couple of hours later, when he got all three boys settled in for bed and Aeris and Zack were long gone that Sephiroth realized that the bitch _still _wasn't home. Not to say that he wasn't glad because he was, but he was still wondering where she went after the stunt she pulled that morning.

"And they lived happily ever after, the end!" He finished, looking at the three snoozing faces as he kissed each child on the forehead. 'I love you guys so much!' he thought to himself as he turned on the nightlight and left the room. He walked into the eerie darkness of the halls of the house and realized that no drunk was unsteadily making their way to his mother's bedroom, for some reason that made him curious. He went to her room to see if she was there sleeping or maybe dead from drug overdose(a guy could dream, couldn't he?) but the room was completely empty, as in _completely_! All her furniture was gone, except for an empty mattress with a note on it. Curious, he went over to the note and saw that it had his mother's drunken, sloppy handwriting on it. He read what it said and instantly went numb, though whether it was from happiness or the opposite he wasn't sure.

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_"Dear Sephiroth,_

_My first baby, I hope you know that I've always loved you and thought of you. I know you may be surprised by that but it __**true**__! I love you and your brothers very much and everything I've done has always been for you guys. I know I got drunk a lot but it was only because of the sadness I felt when your father left me! I stuck around though, but I can't do that anymore. I'm a young woman and I __**can't **__be tied down by children. Let me get to the point! I've met someone and we're leaving and I'm not coming back. I think you can take care of your brothers better than I ever could. They are young; they'll forget all about me soon so just move on with your lives!_

_With love,_

_Your ex-mom Jenova_

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Sephiroth stared at the note in shock, he couldn't believe that bitch! Everything she did was for them? Bull shit! All she ever did was eat, drink, and sleep! And obviously _he_ could take better care of his brothers than her! He already did! The nerve of that woman, thinking----

He stopped himself midrant and quickly reread the letter, she was _really _gone! He couldn't believe it! Could this be a dream come true? He knew it would be hard, but he _could _take care of his brothers! With Aeris and Zack around to support him it would be even easier, and he already thought Leonhart was interesting enough, they could be friends too. With all that help he could raise the boys and give them a _good _life! Sephiroth smiled-----_she _was really gone!

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A/N:

So what did you guys think? Like it, hate it? Long chapter huh? I hope it wasn't too boring and again, I have WordPad not Microsoft word so that's why the grammar sucks. Also I did indent at the start of every paragraph but I don't know if it works on I made Jenova a bitch though huh? I hate her anyways, though I love the SHM and Cloud! Plus Zack and Aeris! AND SQUALL! zomg I wasn't even going to put him in but he begged and I have to relent to Squall on account of the fact that I've loved him since FF8! Oh noes, Seifer is chasing me! SHIT!

Btw: yaoi yet to come but don't worry it will, it will!

Some definitions:

Oni-tama- baby talk for older brother

Tan- baby talk for chan which is an affectionate term

Chibi- children, babies

Sempai- older student

Everything else you should know if you're a true anime/manga fan like myself! ;)

R&R:

Read & review please or else the rabid blue monkeys who know me as their misstress shall EAT your souls! MWUAHAHAHAHAHA!


	2. Favors

Big Brother Sephy:

A/N: First of all, I want to start off by saying how unbelievably HAPPY I am. The reception for this fic is greater than my wildest dream--I know only thirteen reviews, two c2s, five favs, ans twenty story alerts can make her _this _happy? Yeah, it can...I'm easily pleased! So now I will take the time to thank everyone who has spurred me on...sorry for making you wait.

Oh yeah: I drew a pic of Cloud in a chocobo print shirt for easter so have a look! http : / angelgospel . deviantart . com / art / Shy-Cloud-80828953 so just put in the spaces.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Final Fantasy, unfortunately I'll have to make due with owning FF1-9 plus Tactics and Kingdom hearts 1, 2, and CoM.

Warnings: yaoi and bad language and possible Ooc-ness(don't like, don't read!! But don't you dare flame this-"like OMG they r totally teh ghey!! FLAME!!"-because I won't care! Feel free to leave me tips and criticisms though so I can make my writing better :)

People I want to thank(I'm not sure I replied to everyone):

fringeperson: lol I do that too and me and probably the other peaople who are interested in this fic want to thank you because for some reason your review inspired me to write!(Thanx for faving me this xD)

shonenaiyaoifangirl: Sorry I'm late and I'm glad you like it.

crimson moonlight and blood...: He's coming my dear CMaB, he's coming but not just yet...thank you for reviewing.

alphacadet0520: Yeah, I agree with you--the formatting is super annoying as well! And I'm going to continue it--thanks for motivating me!(Thanx for faving this xP)

Dragon77: Thanx alot! :)

RaitenKitsune: YES FANPERSON!

GreyFox: You scared me for a sec when you said you didn't like it but then you said you loved it and I love you for saying that! I hate Jenova so yea...she turned into a drunk...

chloe aka sakura: Thank you very much for reviewing and faving! Don't worry the yaoi is coming(a lot of it I predict...lol self fulfilling prophecy...)

Sephiroth-For-President: Thanx Sephy...I'll vote for you if you run Obama and Clinton are overrated anyways.(Thanx for faving this)

kelle611: Thanks I felt that way too! I'm glad no one thinks its horribly Ooc.

GeneralSephiroth: Thank you and good idea about giving Sephy your soul...don't worry the monkeys only steal your soul if you _don't _review.

Christine: Thank you very much!

Simsie92: Thank you for adding this to your favs!

Vicantis: Thanx for faving!

To everyone who put this on story alert: Thanx very much!

To the c2s that added this: Yay thank you! I can't believe someone actually though this was good enough for a c2...

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Chapter two: Favors

"She's really gone!? Are you serious!? Don't lie to me man!" Sephiroth sighed as he told Zack yet again that 'Yes' his mother was gone and 'No' he wasn't lying. He was currently in his living room telling his friends of the note he found the day before. Zack stared at him blankly for a second before a wide smile broke out across his face.

"That is _so _awesome! We should have a party to celebrate!" Zack said smiling before grabbing an anxious looking Aeris by the hands and spinning around with her.

"Ding! Dong! The bitch is dead...The bitch is dead..." The cheerful boy sang merrily until Aeris smacked him on the head.

"Zack cut it out! This is bad; many problems could arise in the future with a situation like this!" Aeris said tremulously, biting her bottom lip in worry. Both boys stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"What do you mean Aeris?" Sephiroth asked gently and Zack was also curious as to what had the flower girl so anxious.

"Seph, social services may be a problem! I mean, Zack and I know you're responsible but to the rest of the world it'll look like this: an eighteen year old who is still in school being abandoned by his mother and forced to care for three infants...most people would think you couldn't do it or that you wouldn't even want to!" Aeris's bright blue eyes were already shining with tears. Zack immediately moved to comfort her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Aww, Reese's pieces don't cry! Everything will be okay..." He tells the girl softly, once again in serious Zack mode. Aeris looked up at him with shining sapphire eyes and placed her hands on his broad shoulders.

"Oh Zack..." Sephiroth simply observed the scene playing out in front of him before clearing his throat, causing both Zack and Aeris to jump in the air and then look very sheepish once they've landed.

"You need not worry Aeris, if they do not think I'm responsible then we'll just have to prove to them that I am! I won't let _anyone _take my siblings away from me, I promise you that right now!" He said calmly and he believed it too for if anyone could do it he could. Besides, they would take Leonhart's word for it if asked since the other boy already thought he was the boys' guardian. Aeris smiled at him gratefully and Zack pounded him on the back proudly.

"You are _so _awesome man! See Aeris, you don't gotta worry about this guy at all! Everything will be fine!" Zack said while smiling widely and both Sephiroth and Aeris watched him affectionately.

"Well...there _is _one more thing I'm worried about..." Aeris started once again softly and Zack's smile watered down a bit.

"What is it?" Sephiroth asked quietly, waiting for the girl to begin.

"Seph, I know you hate your mother and you have every right to but what will you tell the boys?" Aeris asked and Sephiroth felt like he was struck by lightning. Yes _he _did hate his mother but the boys didn't share in that sentiment yet. He placed a hand on his chin, thinking of a way to soften the blow when inspiration struck him.

"I'll tell the boys that the woman is on vacation for now and once things are more settled I'll break it to them." Sephiroth tells the other teens and Zack immediately nods at his brilliance.

"Man Seph, you've got some brains in that pretty-boy head! No wonder your at the top of the class!" Zack says, once again thumping his back. Aeris bites her lip before nodding her head.

"It could work I guess, we've got nothing else so yeah, we're going to have to go with it." She assents and with all three in agreement Sephiroth sets his plan into action.

"Yazoo, will you bring Kadaj and come down here?" He yelled up the stairs to where he knew the youngest of his siblings were playing together. Loz was currently unavailable because even though Sephiroth was staying home today to work things out he didn't want Loz to miss his second day. He heard a scuffling sound before Yazoo came down the stairs holding Kadaj's hand.

"Yes _Oni-tama_?" Yazoo asked calmly while Kadaj pouted for being taken away from his play.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted your play, boys but I have to tell you something..._Oka-san_ is going on a vacation and will be gone for a while...is that okay with you guys?" He asked them gently because he wasn't sure what their reactions would be. Yazoo looked thoughtful for a bit and Kadaj simply looked confused.

"_Gone?_" It was said nonchalantly and Sephiroth answered likewise.

"Yes." Both pairs of emerald eyes pierced each other.

"Loz won't be happy..." And Sephiroth acknowledged that 'Yes' Loz would indeed be unhappy.

"But how do you feel?" This is what he really wanted to know at the moment, he'd deal with Loz when the time came.

"_I'm_ fine...why would I feel otherwise?" Yazoo said softly, yet again managing to sound stoic. 'I think he needs a therapist...what will it take to ruffle his feathers?' Sephiroth thought to himself, pondering all possible therapists he'd trust with his brother.

"That's good to know Yazoo...how about you Kadaj?" And it really was nice to know that at least Yazoo didn't mind their mother being gone.

"_Ka-san_ go bye-bye?" Kadaj asked while waving his little hands in a bye-bye motion. Sephiroth chuckled and lifted the year old into his arms.

"Yeah I guess so...do you have a problem with that?" He spoke quietly and hoped to exude a calming aura even though he _was _worried about his youngest sibling. Kadaj cutely placed a hand on his own chin in a thinking position, one Sephiroth himself used occasionally.

"Nope, Dajy don't mind..no, no, no! Dajy has Sephy-_ni_ and Zoo-_ni _and Loz-_ni._ Ris can be my mommy!" He declared cutely and Aeris flushed and Sephiroth gave an internal sigh of relief. Zack smiled widely and placed an arm around Aeris's shoulders.

"Guess that means I'm the father...Who's your daddy Sephy?" The playful boy asked only to have Aeris flush darker and Sephiroth bring his fist down on top of Zack's head.

"Shut it Zack!" He said coldly and Zack whimpered like a kicked puppy--or a kicked wolf since the idiot could be dangerous sometimes.

"Aww, you guys are always abusing me--I'll get brain damage!" This got an almost instantaneous reply from both of his close friends.

"You already have brain damage!" Both Sephiroth and Aeris say in different tones of voice--both a little affectionate--causing Zack to pout before all three broke out in laughter and the children looked on confused.

"HA! HA! HA! HA!" Kadaj laughed, though he didn't understand the joke and Sephiroth smiled.

"Very funny Kadaj, now do you boys want your old brother to play with you?" He asked though he already knew the answer, even Yazoo nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Yes _Oni-tama_!"

"Okay then, you guys don't have to wait with me..." He told his friends and they left him playing with his two brothers while waiting for the third.

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Loz arrived a few hours later--during those hours Sephiroth found himself happily building a block tower only to have it collapse on himself--and was as happy as the day before with his school experience.

"How was your day Loz?" He asked quietly, still wondering how he should tell Loz of their mother's vacation. The five year old stared up at him with joy and looked as if he were about to burst from excited-ness. 'That'll change soon...' Sephiroth thought sadly, he didn't want to burst his younger brother's bubble of happiness.

"It was _great_! Guess what Leonhart-_senpai _gave me!? Guess! Guess! Guess!" Loz said while jumping up and down, barely able to control himself. Sephiroth looked at Leonhart who looked stoic and sighed. 'Guess _he's_ not going to give me a clue...'

"What is it Loz?" He asked with a distracted sort of curiosity in his voice which the little boy took no notice of. Loz grinned widely before pulling out a tazer-like weapon from his bag.

"Its called Duel-Hound! Isn't it cool? Huh? Huh?" And Sephiroth could see why he was so excited, it was an impressive looking weapon. Sephiroth looked to Leonhart for confirmation as he took the weapon into his arms.

"Uh yes, you said before that I could start working him towards being a SEED so I thought I'd look to see if he had an attunement with any of the weapons in Garden and he is actually very talented with the Duel-Hound...perhaps you can help him with it when I'm not around?" He said in his usual soft-spoken way and Sephiroth nodded in surprise.

"Yes of course, I'll work with him so he can improve...so is he any good at battle?" The question was merely a formality because he already knew Loz was talented in the battle department.

"Yes he is...we have to work on his speed but he's pretty much beyond most of the other children when it comes to strength. The Duel-Hound is impressive at both defense and offense so that should help him." Leonhart said with a bit of enthusiasm in his voice, he seemed truly impressed by Loz. Sephiroth placed a warm hand on top of Loz's head and smiled a bit.

"Good job Loz, I'm very proud of you." He said to the boy with genuine warmness in his voice. This business with Loz was doing wonders on distracting him from his mother's irresponsibility. 'Speaking of...' Sephiroth thought as he remembered.

"Leonhart-_san_, may I speak to you outside?" And when the Commander assented he told Loz to go play with his younger siblings. Once the boy was gone he and Leonhart stepped outside to talk in private.

"You see Commander, my mother is not a very responsible woman...she drinks and does drugs and isn't really a good influence on my brothers. Recently, I found a note from her that said she was leaving for good and she has left the boys in my custody...she's gone and I'm eighteen meaning I can care for my brothers which I am perfectly capable of doing. What I'm trying to say is...if child services becomes a problem can you do me a favor and tell them how responsible I am? I know this sounds idiotic but they won't take _my _word alone and I assure you that _I've _been the one raising the boys for as long as I can remember so..." Sephiroth had never had such an awkward conversation in his life but Leonhart listened to him patiently until he deemed Sephiroth had said enough.

"It's quite alright Hojo-_san_, I understand. Of course I will tell them that you are fully capable of raising your younger siblings...to be honest, I didn't even realize that your mother was still in the picture...I apologize." Sephiroth had no idea _why_ the other boy was sorry-in fact even _he _forgot his mother was still in the picture and now she's not-so he looked at Leonhart curiously.

"Why are you apologizing Leonhart-_san_?" He asked his companion softly and Leonhart looked a bit embarrassed.

"Uh, for not noticing I guess?" The young Commander said while looking sheepish. Sephiroth gave the other boy a genuine smile.

"It's alright Leonhart-_san_--" At which he was interrupted, not that he minded.

"Err you can just call me Squall--if you want that is--you see my parents weren't really Japanese and being called Leohart-san all the time is kind of confusing and _I _don't really mind if you call me Squall--it is my name after all--and I don't require formality--" It seems it was Leon--Squall's turn for an awkward conversation--Sephiroth thought with a bit of humor. He placed his hand in the air to save the other boy from embarrassment.

"Its okay, Squall...I don't mind and I'd like to thank you for doing this favor for me." He says and shakes the young Commander's hand. Squall smiles a bit softly and shakes Sephiroth's hand in return.

"Its no problem for me Hojo-_san_ and I'd like to ask a favor of you as well--if I'm not being too presumptuous that is--I'm pretty sure you can help?" The Commander blushed and looked embarrassed to being asking Sephiroth a favor but at this point Sephiroth was grateful enough to do anything in return.

"What is it? Oh and you can call me Sephiroth--though Hojo-_san _is probably easier to say--if you want to that is." He says without hesitation, a bit eager to just return the favor.

"Well you see--my cousin, Cloud Strife, is coming into town and he's going to be living near here. He's also enrolling into your school and into the SOLDIER program and I was hoping you could take him under your wing? I know that I shouldn't bother you this way but Cloud really is a soft-spoken person and won't be a bother...plus I believe you'll be a good influence on him." He says it all quietly though he looks a bit anxious.

"Its no problem at all...when is he moving in? You can introduce us." Sephiroth said charmingly as he cuts the other boy off.

"Well, alright...and thank you! I appreciate this, I wish Cloud would stay with me and enroll in Garden but he wants to be independent...sorry I don't talk much..." He looks a little shy now and rubs his head sheepishly.

"Yes I've noticed..." Sephiroth says with an amused twinkle in his eye.

"Well, tomorrow then...I'll introduce you. Err...thanks again." The other boy says before giving an awkward wave and walking off. Sephiroth waves back with a smile--he definitely found Squall to be an interesting person.

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Sephiroth walked into his house to find Loz wailing while Kadaj giggled and Yazoo attempted to comfort him.

"WAAHH!" Loz wailed and he could hear Yazoo muttering a soft 'Don't cry Loz!' and rubbing his back.

"Whats the problem now boys?" He asks tiredly and Kadaj stops laughing only to look a little guilty.

"Kadaj told him that _Oka-san_ is not coming back..." Yazoo says softly and Kadaj pouts at him. Loz looks teary-eyed and his lips quiver.

"Is it true _Oni-tama_?" And Sephiroth sighs--he knew this was going to be difficult.

"Not entirely, _Oka-san_ just went on vacation..." He lies as Loz's sobs turn to hiccups. He placed a comforting arm around the boy and he leaned in.

"Kadaj, that wasn't nice!" He scolds and the one year old hangs his head slightly causing him to sigh and pat his head.

"Sowwy..." Kadaj says softly with a guilty blush on his face.

"Its okay, right Loz?" And Loz nods in confirmation causing Kadaj to smile. 'How troublesome' Sephiroth thinks softly before smiling at his three brothers and opening his arms wider. Just as predicted they begin piling in. 'Oh well...'

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The next day after school, Sephiroth and his two friends waited for Squall to drop off Loz and introduce his cousin.

"Hmm, so he's going to be your neighbor and is enrolling in our school? What does he look like? How old is he? Is he any good at combat?" Zack practically fired the questions at him and he was beginning to get annoying.

"How should _I_ know Zack? I assume he's a talented warrior since he's the Commander of Garden's cousin." Sephiroth says in agitation. Zack smiles sheepishly as Aeris pulls him down into sitting position.

"You're making Sephiroth nervous Zack!" The blue-eyed woman scolds. Zack looks from Aeris to Sephiroth before sighing.

"Sorry...I'm just curious I guess." He says while laughing and soon both Aeris and Sephiroth crack a smile. Aeris wipes some tears--of laughter-from her eyes before looking to Sephiroth.

"He does sound interesting...I wonder if I've met him before?" She says curiously causing Sephiroth to look at her.

"Oh?" He says with minimal curiosity because _he _really wasn't too curious about this matter himself. He would help the boy get used to his new environment and then move on; it wasn't really a big deal to him. Unfortunately, this _was _big news to Zack and maybe even to Aeris.

"Really!? What is he like?" Zack practically yells at the flower girl causing her to pout at him.

"Shush Zack!" She commands and the puppy-like boy assents by bowing his head in shame.

"Well..." Aeris begins again and places a thoughtful hand on her chin. Zack waits at the edge of his seat.

"He came with Squall-_san _to my flower shop--who by the way is so adorably sweet and shy--but he doesn't really fit the description that Squall-_san _gave you for him..." She says to Sephiroth softly.

"How so?" Sephiroth asks, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.

"Well...he's a very tall and muscular blonde and he seems to embarrass Squall-_san _quite a bit...I'm sorry to say that he's a bit annoying and he..." She hesitates and it peaks Sephiroth's curiosity a bit.

"What?" Both he and Zack ask, in varying tones of voice. Aeris bites her lip in hesitation before telling the two boys.

"Well he kissed Squall-_san _on the cheek--it was endearing--and Squall-_san _blushed so hard!" She says and she seems to be peeling with laughter on the inside. Sephiroth raised both eyebrows at this. Could Squall have lied to him?

"I though he was Squall's cousin?" He says mostly to himself and Aeris also looks curious.

"Maybe they're distant cousins?" Zack gives his helpful input and both friends look at him bemusedly.

"It is possible..." He continues and Sephiroth assents that 'Yes' it is indeed possible. At that moment the doorbell rings. As Sephiroth goes to answer it he finds that his heart is pounding anxiously. 'I can't believe they've got _me _excited over this...' He scowls.

He opens the door only to have Loz run in and glomp him.

"Guess what _Oni-tama_? I met an angel today!!" This only peaks his curiosity further. He opens the door further to see Squall with-Aeris's exact description of-the tall, blonde guy who had his arms around the lithe brunette's waist. The other man had slick, blonde hair and wore a white trenchcoat. He had tannish skin and pale green-blue eyes and an almost Zack-like smirk on his face. Squall only flushed at the other man's attention, especially when he saw Sephiroth looking. 'He doesn't really look like an angel…' Sephiroth thinks while looking at the man before clearing his throat.

"Err, hello Strife-_san_...welcome to the neighborhood and I'd be happy to show you around the school--" He starts before being cut off by the tall blonde's laughter.

"You've got the wrong idea Powder--I'm not Strife--I'm Squally-boy's man-candy" He didn't need to be told that Sephiroth didn't appreciate the nickname or that Squall didn't appreciate his forwardness.

"Er...yeah...um...Cloud's coming now." Squall says with a dark flush as the blonde man begins nibbling on his throat.

"_Mmmn _yeah, I'm Seifer by the way--" Before Sephiroth can reply to Seifer he hears a sweet, melodic voice which is soon followed by a person and his jaw drops to the floor. _'Hubba, hubba, hubba...'_

"...Angel?" He says out loud as he sees the small figure on his doorstep. 'What have I gotten myself into!?'

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A/N: Sorry this chapter was so late and for the spelling & grammar errors. Well, Cloud-and Seifer-have made an appearance though you don't really get to meet Cloud till the next chapter. Sorry but it's on the way!!

PS. YAY SEIFER'S HERE!: I love him almost as much as I love Sephy, Zack, and Cloud...and Squall. Seifer/Squall is the most adorablest(I realize that this is not a real word)! Though some of those Rinoa/Squall moments were cute in the game their will be none of that here. Oh yeah, that reminds me...what do you think of Zack/Aeris? This was going to be all yaoi but they just sort of fit themselves into it? Aeris is one of the only anime/manga/game girls I actually like. I hate Tifa so she'll only be here as a villain or not at all...grrr.

R&R: Read and Review yeah? Or them damn monkeys will get ya!


	3. On Cloud Nine

Big Brother Sephy

A/N: I know you guys probably hate me for being such a lazy updater but I've got a lot on my plate--most of it my fault. I keep getting more and more story ideas and I write out a few chapters for them, disregarding the fact that I already wrote a story that needs finishing but I put all my other stories on HIATUS till I get a little farther in this one. Plus I was a little depressed because Crazy Fandom was flamed like five or six times and that hurt my pride a bit. Anyways, I thank everyone who reviewed but now I'll thank the people I couldn't reply to. PS. Read my original story Vampire Moon in .

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own any Final Fantasy and probably won't any time in the future.

Warnings: Same as the last chapter + a wet dream lol(nothing descriptive)

People I wanna thank (Unfortunately, like I said above, I can't write to everyone who reviewed or story alerted, faved, etc. me so I'm only putting this section for those I couldn't reply too.):

Bbritishchik: Thank you so much, I'm sorry I made you wait for it though '

Grey Fox: I love Seifer, his pornographic mind will make this interesting. Sorry I made you wait, I'm such a bum... xp

There's one other person who added this to their story alerts but I accidentally deleted the message and never replied...D': I'm sorry! But I want to thank you--if I haven't replied to you and you've done something nice for this fic--review, fav, story alert, author alert, fav author, etc--thanks a bunch, I love you guys!

PS: I have a BETA now, her name is Animefira001 and she's a great writer (she's going to start posting her HarryxDraco fics here so if that's your thing drop her a review. I just read it and it was great!) So now the mean people who told me my grammar sucked in Crazy Fandom can go screw themselves.

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Chapter Three: On Cloud Nine

Sephiroth finally picked his jaw off the floor when he saw the reactions of the people around him. Zack and Aeris seemed to be shocked yet happy because they thought their apathetic friend was finally paying attention to something other then his siblings. Though they loved the children as much as Sephiroth, they still thought the silver haired man needed to get a life.

"Finally!" Zack said aloud with joy but Aeris quickly slapped a hand over his mouth and giggled at Sephiroth.

"We're happy for you Seph." She told him softly and the silver haired man's eye twitched at both of his friends antics but that wasn't even the worst of it. Seifer stared at Sephiroth with calculating blue-green eyes and the seemingly ever-present smirk widened further.

"Well, well, well...what do we have here?" Seifer drawled out, his eyes flicking back and forth between Sephiroth and the _angel_.

"Been in town for less than a day and you already got a stalker?" He continued, only speaking to Cloud this time around. Squall watched the whole thing with interest until he finally deemed the conversation ready for his input.

"I approve." He said simply and Seifer laughed hard as he pulled the brunette into a kiss. Throughout the whole thing Strife--'_Cloud' _Sephiroth mentally corrected--seemed to be quite confused.

_'Adorably confused...'_ Sephiroth thought before shaking himself out of the strange thoughts.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked the room in general, wondering if the entire universe had lost its sanity. A strange--_handsome_--man had called him angel, his cousin approved--approved of what? Cloud didn't know. And Seifer--that annoying, _annoying _man--seemed to find it amusing when he was confused.

_'Damn sadists!' _Cloud's inner aggressive half muttered but he only blinked his wide blue eyes cutely at the rest of the people in the room--making them all want to hug him and one actually followed through--a strange boy with spiky black hair like his own blonde spikes. The blonde really was too cute to resist. He had a delicate figure like his cousin but his skin his eyes were big and blue unlike Squall's--still pretty--narrowed storm grey eyes and the hair color was definitely a difference. The family resemblance was still there though.

"Aww, he's so kawaii! No wonder Sephy wants to rape him!" The boy's words made poor Cloud fear for his life further but the energetic man was soon dragged off of him.

"Zack!!" Both Sephiroth and Aeris warned and the boy smiled sheepishly. All through the conversation Loz waited quietly to be acknowledged but now he was too curious to refrain himself from asking a question.

"_Oni-tama_, what's rape?" He asked innocently and everyone froze. Sephiroth--and everyone else to be completely honest--had forgotten the boy was there but now that they knew he was Zack was in trouble.

"Nothing Loz...why don't you go upstairs and play with your brothers?" He asked the boy calmly and Loz complied--albeit confused--and Sephiroth turned to Zack with fiery green eyes.

"Zack..." He left the threat hanging but Zack understood and began to run.

"SORRY!!" Zack yelled while running with frightened tears in his eyes. Aeris sighed before following him.

"I'd better make sure he stays out of trouble...you'll be okay right Seph?" When Sephiroth nodded in assent she waved and left the house leaving the silver haired boy awkwardly staring at the other three people in the house.

"This is so good! I'm glad I came here baby." Seifer told Squall and pressed a kiss to the silky brown locks. Squall only rolled his eyes and sighed. He took Seifer's large, gloved hand in his own and began to pull him away.

"We better leave these two alone to _discuss _things. I'm sure Cloud wants to know _why _Sephiroth wants to rape him." He told the bigger boy who pouted like a small child and stomped his foot petulantly.

"Aw man! And it was just getting good...urghh!" Seifer pouted as he crossed his arms and Squall sighed.

"Seifer...the um...the _sex _will be good tonight if you leave with me now!" He whispered in a consoling manner into Seifer's ear and the blonde man looked on with bright eyes at the news and smiled, conveniently forgetting about the soap opera going on before him.

"Oh yeah!!" He practically howled and lifted Squall into his arms, making him flush and demand to be put down.

"Um Sephiroth, I still approve--" But he was cut off by a frustrated Cloud who finally decided to cut in.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" The blonde shrieked and everyone stopped to stare at him. The blue eyes were completely furious as he glared at the three people in the room besides himself. He turned first to his bemused cousin and pointed at him.

"You and Uncle Laguna _planned _something didn't you? That's why you kept saying this Sephiroth guy could help me!!" He fumed and Squall backed away slowly causing Seifer to laugh. Cloud turned to him next.

"And YOU--you big BAKA--stop teasing me! ARGH!! Why does Squall take you everywhere?" He practically screamed into Seifer's face causing the blonde man to pale slightly.

"Er...um...'cause I'm hot?" He tried but the smaller blonde nearly bit his head off and Squall had to stop him.

"Um...Cloud, I'm sorry. Laguna-_san _and I didn't _plan _anything, I promise." Sephiroth didn't miss the formality attached to this _Laguna's _name but he shrugged it off. He had bigger problems. He watched wearily as Squall left with Seifer in tow and sighed before turning to look at the angry and confused blonde.

"Look--" He began but the blonde put up a small hand to halt his words.

"Will you please explain to me what's going on? I'm not stupid, I know _something _is going on, I just don't know _what_!" The blonde looked ready to cry, and as fate would have it, cute things about to cry were Sephiroth's weakness.

_'I've been around cute things way too long...this is going to ruin my reputation I just know it.'_ The thought made him emit another sigh as he put a comforting arm around the blonde's shoulder.

"Look, I _know _you're not stupid...anyone would be confused in your situation." He explained gently--or what he hoped was gently--to the small blonde, hoping to dry his tears.

"Okay..." Cloud sniffed slowly, rubbing a small hand over his eyes, "As long as no one was making fun of me."

_'KAWAII!!'_ Sephiroth's mental Zacks were screaming and he couldn't help but silently agree.

"I assure you, no one was making fun of you, it was a complicated situation all around." But he said this aloud instead of his rather rambunctious thoughts. Cloud looked him straight in the eyes and seemed to be testing the validity of his words but finally nodded, completely missing Sephiroth's small shiver.

"Okay, I believe you even though that bastard Almasy _was _making fun of me but he makes fun of Squall too so it's fine." Sephiroth mentally smiled at that and watched Cloud fume.

_'Ah, well it seems he's not as shy as I thought he was...he's still cute though--ARGH I have to stop thinking like that.' _Sephiroth shook the naughty thoughts from his head while Cloud watched him with confusion.

"So um, what _were _you guys talking about?" And his question made Sephiroth think on his feet because he couldn't tell him the _truth_.

"Well uh, you see..." He cleared his throat and began again, "When I saw you I was surprised at how er...small you appear. I was worried that the SOLDIER program may be too difficult for you." He put up a hand to stop Cloud from objecting and continued.

"Almasy-_san_ saw my hesitation and began laughing at you...and your cousin, Squall, was telling me that he approved of you going to the SOLDIER program." Sephiroth mentally applauded himself for being such a wonderful strategist and watched Cloud's face to see if he looked skeptical.

"Oh, was that it? I er thought that...um..." Cloud began his face flushing a lovely pink, "I thought that maybe you _liked _me and er..." The boy finished with a small, shy smile.

_'Oh, so he is the shy type...cute.' _But his face remained impassionate as he tried to think of what to say next. He settled on laughing and when he thought back to it later that day he realized that may have been a mistake.

"Like you? Me? No, no, no...you are a silly little cadet aren't you?" He laughed--even though Cloud was right in his assumptions, Sephiroth couldn't let him know. His eyes widened when he saw Cloud's eyes fill with tears.

"You--You bastard! I don't need your help!" And with that said the blonde ran out of Sephiroth's home--slamming the door quite loudly on his way out.

_'Was it something I said?' _He asked himself, clueless, but giggling quickly cut off his train of thought. He looked up to the top of the stairs and saw his siblings huddled together, trying to be sneaky.

"I must be losing my touch...I didn't even notice them." He muttered to himself as he made his way up the stairs.

"Rejected!" Kadaj squealed cutely with a mischievous smile on his face and Sephiroth sighed.

"No more MTV for you..." He told the small boy before turning to the others.

"What did you see?" He asked calmly and they all looked at each other as if trying to verify their stories.

"Well..." Yazoo started apathetically, "We found out exactly why you have no love life." Sephiroth twitched with embarrassment. It seemed Loz felt his pain because the five year old hugged his leg.

"We still love you _Oni-tama_, you don't need the angel! We'll stay with you forever!" Sephiroth twitched more, he had no doubt Loz would keep his promise but he could just picture Kadaj and Yazoo walking out of his life on the arms of some very handsome men.

"Thank you for the sentiment Loz, but I'm not to hurt by this--_rejection_--as Kadaj called it." The three children seemed to watch him skeptically but let it go.

_'I'm not lying to them--I'm not hurt exactly...just extremely bewildered and confused. Was it possible that he __**wanted **__me to like him?'_ Sephiroth shook the thoughts from his mind--he had enough to think about right now with the adoption and the abandonment.

_'Why always me?'_ But as usual, no one answered his question.

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That night Sephiroth had a strange yet _interesting _dream.

_Cloud was kissing Sephiroth and his silky pink lips were so soft against Sephiroth's own. Sephiroth coaxed a tongue into the boy's mouth and smiled against his lips when he felt the boy shudder. He hand a large hand under the boy's adorable chocobo print pajamas and the blonde didn't seem to mind in the least._

_"Oh Sephiroth--take me now!"_ _Cloud moaned and at that moment Sephiroth woke up._

When Sephiroth woke up his sheets were drenched and he was very, very _uncomfortable_. He became even _more _uncomfortable when he saw three pairs of luminescent green eyes watching him.

_'Oh crap--'_ But he was cut off by Loz jumping on him to hug him.

"Sniff--_Oni-tama_ wet the bed--it's okay I wet the bed all the time." He cried while hugging Sephiroth and nearly cutting off his circulation.

"Sephy wet the bed?" Kadaj laughed and Yazoo only shook his head without emotion. After a while Sephiroth coaxed the children back into their own beds and took the opportunity to think about him dream. After deliberating on it for a few hours--while washing his sheets from something worse than just wetting the bed--he realized something very important.

"OH CRAP--I _like _him and I just made him _hate _me!" Needless to say, Sephiroth didn't get a lot of sleep that night.

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A/N: What did you guys think? Sorry I made Sephiroth so clueless in this but he just hasn't figured it out yet (Until the very end.) Oh yeah, Cloud is here, did you guys like the way I wrote him? I hope so lol.

Spoiler for the next chapter: Sephiroth is the green-eyed monster (literally since he has green eyes) when Cloud makes a new friend at school. I'll give you a hint as too who it is; he was the prettiest Final Fantasy character in my opinion because he resembles a girl so much. He also gave the most yaoi hints in the game because he obsessed over his best friend turning evil. He faked his death and speaking of games, his game has a remake for the PSP. He isn't Zack. I'll dedicate the next chapter to the first person who guesses who he is.

PS: Sorry this chapter was so short. I'll make the next one longer.

R&R: Read and review or chibi-Kadaj will kill you with chibi-Souba.


	4. Green Eyed Monster

Big Brother Sephy

A/N: lol This must be my fastest update but I'm just so excited about the surprise character who NO ONE guessed correctly...I'm kinda shocked. No love for my poor adorable bishi...oh well, I still love him and so does his lover XD. The last chapter was kinda short but I hope this one will make you forgive me. I love writing these chapters : ) it's just so much fun and jealous!Sephy is so much fun to write!

PS: I drew some SephyxCloud pics and posted them on DA--the links to them are on my profile--so feel free to look at them but I warn you, I'm way better at writing than drawing --" lol. Also, I wrote an original-YAOI-story for FictionPress called Vampire Moon which you guys might like so take the time and read it if you can.

BETA: Animefira001 she posted the second chapter of her Harry Potter yaoi fic and I hope you guys took my advice and looked it up--the second chapter is more juicy than the first even though there's no...smut?...yet...I'm a bad girl. THIS CHAPTER IS UN-BETA'D, I JUST WANNA POST IT BUT I'LL PUT UP THE REVISED VERSION AFTER SHE LOOKS OVER IT SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT MISTAKESI just want a little feedback XD

Disclaimer: Don't own--probably never will but I'm writing my own--slashable--novel which--if published--will give me my own lovely bishounen to slash...lol.

Warnings: Same as usual--does excessive jealousy and the urge to tear off an adorable blonde's head count?(Don't worry, it's not Cloud...or Seifer)

People I wanna thank: Empathetic Dreamer: Thanks for your support, wish you had taken a guess...you could've been the lucky--or not so lucky if the chapter sucked--winner of a yaoi filled AU crossover chapter of a Final Fantasy fic...

PS-2: I got a 1640 on my SATs--I was shocked because though I enjoy English and Literature, my Mathematical skills suck worst than girl characters who ruin yaoi : ) so yeah, that's the reason I'm writing this! I'm happy!

PS-3: This one has stuff from just Cloud's PoV so yeah...enjoy our adorable blonde hero as he grumbles about mean silver-haired men to his 'friend.'

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Chapter Four: Green Eyed Monster--Literally

Large, blue eyes opened up blearily as Cloud Strife picked himself out of bed. He was surprised because he actually got a good night of sleep.

_'Hmm, and on my first night in a new house, maybe it won't be so bad without...without mom...'_ The thought of his mother brought tears to his eyes but he quickly shook them away. Squall had been kind enough to offer to stay the night with him but he seemed reluctant to leave Almasy so Cloud had spared him, but the brunet promised to see him off to school for his first day. He admitted that he was quite nervous at the prospect of the new school.

"Why do I even have to go?" Cloud asked himself aloud while pouting but no one deigned to answer him. A picture of a beautiful blonde haired woman flitted through his mind and he sighed softly.

_'You might make some friends Cloud...'_ Her sweet voice reverberated through his thoughts and his eyes watered again.

_'Why am I always crying? I'm such a baby...'_ He thought as he roughly rubbed his knuckles into his teary eyes and forced himself to get dressed. He carefully and slowly took off his chocobo print pajamas and took out the uniform to his new school. It was a creamy white shirt with a pale blue tie--which matched his eyes--and black dress slacks. He also placed his SOLDIER uniform in a carry-on gym bag. It was a purple jumpsuit that all cadets were required to wear.

"Why purple?" Cloud had said aloud when he read the terms and conditions for joining SOLDIER, but he had figured with help from Squall and Squall's _contact_ at SOLDIER he wouldn't have to wear it for long.

_'Too bad the contact is a bastard...'_ He grumbled as he remembered the stupid--handsome--man he had met the day before. He forced himself to forget about the green-eyed man and finished his morning duties. He went downstairs after getting dressed and made his way to his kitchen to make breakfast.

"I guess I'm making my own breakfast from now on." Cloud sighed before getting to work on his pancake-batter and eggs, "Good thing I enjoy cooking eh?" He finished with a smile before becoming immersed in his task. Pretty soon he was shaken from his reverie by a loud knock on the door.

"GOOD MORNING MARY SUNSHINE!" An irritating voice--which belonged to his cousin's boyfriend--yelled.

_'Only morning and it's already a horrible day.' _He fumed through gritted teeth as he opened the door for the large blonde man who literally loomed over his more petite cousin. When he opened the door he saw Squall shushing the big man and internally smiled as Almasy pouted. Squall heard his giggle and turned towards him worriedly.

"How was your first night?" His cousin tried to keep cool but it wasn't really working so Cloud smiled at him to soothe his frayed nerves.

"It was fine, you have to quit babying me." He chastised and Seifer nodded his head in agreement.

"Ain't that the truth? My kitten didn't sleep a wink last night and claimed that his worry made him unable to enjoy our um--nightly activities--if you catch my drift." Both Squall and Cloud glared at him and he backed away with his hands in the air.

"_Sorry_!" He said with a mock apology and began moving up the driveway, "I'll just wait for you guys in the car...hurry it up, you don't wanna be late on your first day _Angel_." Squall shushed him again and Cloud glared passionately at the reminder of yesterday's disaster.

"Arghh--bastard!" He screeched, reaching out for Almasy's throat with his small hands but was deftly avoided. Squall sighed suffering at the antics of the two blondes.

"Why can't you two act civil around each other?" He asked while tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Uh...'Cause we can't? Sorry baby-doll, I'd give you the world but I can't be 'civil' to this brat." The calmness of the statement made Cloud even more enraged.

"And I _hate _this bastard!" He growled childishly before being literally dragged to the car by Squall. He protested to being in a car driven by Seifer until Squall took the wheel. They proceeded quietly for a while until Squall broke the silence.

"So--" He began in what _he thought_ was a subtle way, "How did your talk with Sephiroth go?" He asked it gently but Cloud glared at him and then turned slightly to glare at the house where he knew the silver-haired man lived.

"Stop trying to manipulate me!" He ordered and Almasy turned towards him sharply.

"Hey--" The big blonde man began but Squall cut him off with a hand.

"It's okay Seifer. Cloud I'm sorry but I'm not trying to manipulate you...I'm trying to help you make friends. You're traumatized by your m--" At which point, Cloud cut him of.

"I don't want to hear you okay? Don't tell me to deal with _that _because I never tell you to deal with your _father_!" He huffed and Squall stiffened slightly, his grey eyes narrowing.

"This is different from that!" He said in a low, dangerous voice and Almasy placed a comforting arm around his shoulder.

"How is it different huh? Maybe you're traumatized too, except you're traumatized by your father being _alive_!" Cloud knew he was being harsh on his cousin who was only trying to help but he was hurting right now and Squall's worries were not helping.

"Just drop it!" Squall told him coldly and he glared at the back of the brunet's head angrily.

"Maybe you should drop it!" He responded childishly and the brunet assented just as angrily.

"Fine!" They both said at the same time and the rest of the ride to school was quiet. Almasy was the only one trying to make pleasant chatter the whole way. When they finally got to Shinra private high school Cloud jumped out of his seat huffily and Almasy followed.

"I'll just be a minute babe, I wanna talk to him." He told Squall who nodded stiffly. He followed the other blonde slowly before tapping him on the shoulder.

"Look can I talk to you?" He asked the livid blonde who nodded only when he saw the seriousness in Almasy's eyes.

"Fine." He said grumpily and the other blonde smiled tightly.

"Look, you're really hurting him when you say stuff like that...you're the only family he has." Almasy told him calmly--and a little sadly--making Cloud feel guilty.

"I know...he's all I have too. It's just...I'm not _ready _to talk about that kind of stuff...it still hurts so...give him a hug for me?" He asked quietly and Almasy smiled brightly, pulling before _him _into a hug.

"No prob kid, now have a great first day." With that he turned around to walk away but hesitated and added something else, "Too bad kitten wasn't here to witness this monumental moment eh? We had a civil talk! So call me Seifer from now on eh? We're practically family!" Cloud wrinkled his nose at him but smiled in return.

"Yeah, a dysfunctional family but I get what you're trying to say--Seifer...and thanks." He said the last part with a blush and Seifer smiled before walking away.

"Better get back to the mother lion before he kills someone in panic." He told Cloud who smiled at the mental picture before walking towards the school building. When he turned around and saw all the students he nearly had a panic attack.

_'Oh my god...there are so many people! Okay, just breathe...just breathe!'_ He watched as a slightly younger boy came towards him.

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Sephiroth woke up abruptly--if you could call it waking up since he never fell asleep--at the sound of his alarm. He went to the mirror and saw his eyes were red and his flowing silver hair was a disheveled mess.

_'Today will be a bad day.' _Then he remembered the day before and changed his thoughts, _'Correction, today will be the __**worst **__day ever!'_ He wondered if he should've just stayed in bed but forced himself to start his morning rituals. After he finished those he made his way to his kitchen only to find Zack and Aeris there. Aeris looked up at him with worry before forcibly turning Zack around.

"Zack wants to say sorry for yesterday. I hope he didn't ruin your chances with that cute blonde." She told him softly but Sephiroth snorted.

"I ruined my own chances with him." Aeris placed a comforting arm on his shoulder.

"Oh Seph, you'll win him back." She promised and Zack nodded frantically.

"That's right, right chibis?" He asked the three infants who nodded their heads.

"Sephy get mawwied?" Kadaj asked cutely while Yazoo spoon-fed him. The more apathetic brother nodded while the oldest, Loz, nearly jumped for joy.

"Yay! I wanna be the ring bearer! And Yazoo can be the flower girl 'cause he looks like one!" Yazoo glared at him but Kadaj looked excited.

"Me! Me!" He screeched but Loz shook his head at him and he pouted.

"You're too small to be in it!" He told the year old who began screaming like a banshee.

"NO! NO! NO! I WANNA! I WANNA!" He yelled until Sephiroth picked him up and sent a scolding look to Loz.

"Loz don't say that to Kadaj. Kadaj you can't be in the wedding because there won't be a wedding so calm down, all of you!" His voice was controlled yet angry so the children stopped bickering, as did the adults.

"Seph--" Both Aeris and Zack started but he cut them off with an upraised palm.

"I'm not in the mood. Loz, go get ready for school!" The five year old assented and just in time because Squall knocked on the door. The lion of Balamb Garden--as Sephiroth amusedly found out he was called--looked pissed but greeted Sephiroth politely.

"Good Morning Sephiroth. I hope you'll forgive my _cousin _if he was rude to you in any way...he's going through a traumatic time." Sephiroth heard the seething emphasis he put on the word cousin but let it go in favor of thinking about Cloud's traumatic time but he couldn't just ask about it, that would be rude.

"It's fine, more my fault than his really. I'm sorry to say that he told me he didn't want my help." Saying that made him wonder if the Commander would even help him now since he couldn't help his cousin but the other boy only sighed and rubbed his forehead wearily.

"It's fine...Cloud thinks he can deal with everything on his own. Where's Loz?" Sephiroth let the first statement go and just answered about Loz's whereabouts.

"He's getting ready, you can come in and wait?" But Squall shook his head so Sephiroth waited outside with him. Loz came down shortly after and ran to Squall, taking his hand. The brunet smiled gently before leading him away to his car where Sephiroth noted Seifer was waiting.

"Have a good day Loz. Sorry I couldn't be of more help Squall." Both addressed persons nodded and Squall smiled slightly.

"Just keep an eye on him for me...I don't want him getting into any fights. And do it from a far please...I don't need him telling me that I'm nosy any more than he already does." So Sephiroth nodded and watched the blue car drive off to Balamb. With a sigh, he made his way back inside to say good-bye to Aeris, Yazoo and Kadaj all while dragging Zack out.

"Come on Zack, let's make our way to our doom." He said this calmly causing Zack to laugh. During the whole ride to school he drove fiercely and Zack was very afraid.

"Calm down Seph!" The black-haired man begged to deaf ears. Sephiroth had a mental mantra going in his head and it wasn't a pleasant one.

_'Today will be horrible. Today will be horrible. Today will be horrible.'_ And it only got worst when he arrived to school only to find Cloud talking to a cute blonde from their SOLDIER prep class.

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Cloud stared at the large brown eyes of the boy in front of him. At first glance Cloud had thought he was a girl because of the small, delicate frame and the feminine--even more so than himself he was shocked to say--face. The boy had short blonde curls framing his pretty face and he had a SOLDIER cadet uniform is his hands asnd was placing it in a carry-on bag like Cloud's own.

"Hello. Are you feeling okay?" He had a slight accent that Cloud could not identify and his voice was a soft as the rest of him.

"Yeah, I'm fine...just a little nervous. Today's my first day." He told the smaller boy embarrassedly. He looked slightly younger than Cloud and was even smaller.

"Hmm, I see. It will be okay, you do not need to be nervous. The school is pretty good the only problem is some of the morons that go here." He pointed to some of the other giggling guys in the SOLDIER cadet uniforms.

"Ramza's made a new boyfriend." The other guys chanted to the blonde who Cloud guessed was Ramza.

"Well he is a lot better to look at than you pigs!" The blonde yelled back at them before turning back to Cloud, "I could not even introduce myself. I am Ramza Beoulve, welcome to Shinra private." He had a nice, gentle smile Cloud noted and the smile caused Cloud to smile back.

"Thanks, I'm Cloud Strife. Call me Cloud okay? I can't deal with all this -_san_ stuff." Ramza smiled and nodded.

"Neither can I really. I am from Ivalice and no one adds such formalities over there." Cloud was relieved to hear that and to finally place the soft accent, "But they do call me Lord Beoulve there...not that I want you to call me that. That is even worst than -_san_."

"Okay." Cloud said with a smile before he noticed something that surprised him.

_'I'm actually making a friend.'_ Before he mentally smacked himself, _'Don't get ahead of yourself now, he's only being polite.'_ But then he noticed Ramza politely waiting for him to say something.

"Huh?" He asked dumbly and the blonde smiled, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"I asked where you are from." He told Cloud gently and Cloud decided that the small blonde reminded him a little of his mother.

"Me? I'm from Nivelheim." He told Ramza who looked thoughtful and a little worried.

"I am sorry to say that I have never heard of it." And he really did sound sorry making Cloud smile.

"It's okay, it's a small town that no one ever really hears about. So why did you come all the way over here from Ivalice?" Ivalice was all the way around the world so it seemed like a valid question but Ramza frowned.

"I am leaving someone behind. I want to be as far away from him as possible." He whispered this to Cloud so the 'idiots' couldn't hear.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry to bring up such a hurtful topic." He told the boy sorrowfully but he shook his head dully, his gloved hands running through his short blonde curls.

"It is fine." He told Cloud softly, never removing his hand from his short hair.

_'I wonder if his hair reminds him of the person he's running away from?_' Cloud thought before mentally berating himself for his nosiness. Then he heard a bell ring and Ramza snapped out of his daze. He took Cloud's hand and began dragging him to the inside of the school.

"I shall take you to he office to pick up your schedule." Ramza declared and Cloud blushed and followed. He never noticed the livid green eyes watching him from afar.

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Sephiroth watched angrily as he saw the small blonde cadet take Cloud's hand. Zack didn't help the matter.

"Hey isn't that Cloud with Ramza? They make a pretty cute couple." Zack said with a smile, not really noticing the hateful glare that Sephiroth had directed towards Ramza.

"Ramza is really smart, don't you think? Squall doesn't have to worry, Ramza may be small but he has spunk so he'll take care of Cloud." He added, further angering Sephiroth.

"Stop praising him!" Sephiroth ordered coldly and Zack finally noticed the anger on his face.

"You're jealous aren't you!?" Zack asked with shock before bursting into laughter. Sephiroth dug his fingernails angrily into his hand, making small-bleeding half moons appear on the pale skin.

"You don't have to worry Seph. Ramza has--" But Sephiroth cut him off with a glare.

"I don't want to hear anymore about him Zack so just shut up!" And Zack shut his mouth fearfully.

_'Huh. This is going to end badly. He didn't even let me tell him __**why **__he shouldn't worry. I hope he doesn't make a stupid mistake.'_ Zack thought with worry as he watched a seething Sephiroth from the corner of his eye.

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Ramza dragged Cloud to the office by their joined hands, ignoring the catcalls of the other cadets. They loved to tease him Cloud noted and hoped the teasing never seriously harmed the other blonde.

"Tseng-_san_, this is Cloud Strife and he needs his schedule." He told the Wutaian--as far as Cloud could guess--secretary. The man 'Hmm-ed' before typing in Cloud's name in his laptop and printing out a schedule for him. He handed said schedule to Ramza who looked over it and smiled.

"We have a lot of our classes together." He told Cloud happily causing the blonde to strare at him curiously.

"How old are you Ramza?" He asked the other boy since Ramza had classes with him but looked so young.

"Me? I am fifteen." He told Cloud slowly and Cloud stared at him carefully.

"How are you in 'a lot' of my classes then?" And it really did peak his curiosity. Ramza didn't seem offended by all his questions and took them in stride.

"Oh that? I probably forgot to tell you, I'm a child prodigy." He said it calmly--as if it didn't matter--and wide brown 'bambi' eyes never left Cloud's schedule.

"Oh." Cloud replied dumbly but looked back at Ramza when he smiled brightly.

"It is alright Cloud. It is not a problem is it? We are friends right?" Ramza asked him and Cloud forgot about the genius stuff.

_'We're friends?'_ Cloud thought bemusedly before a bright smile broke out on his face.

"Right friends!" And Ramza smiled at his enthusiastic response before taking Cloud's hand again.

"Good." He told the smiling Cloud simply before dragging him away off to their first class.

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Cloud was thankful Ramza had been with him in most of his classes, the boy had helped him catch up since he was new at the school. He had learned one thing from all the time spent with Ramza, the other boy really was a genius. Finally the day passed by long enough for Cloud to get to the class he was most anxious about--SOLDIER prep. Ramza saw his wide, fearful eyes and smiled gently.

"It is going to be fine. You need not worry about the little things so much Cloud." And Cloud wondered about his always-formal way of speaking.

_'Must be an Ivalician thing.'_ And he let it go at that and went into the class, figuring he'd ask Ramza later. When he got into the class he saw a lot of people and all of them were staring at he and Ramza's joined hands. One in particular caught his attention--Sephiroth--the handsome silver-haired _jerk _from yesterday. The man was glaring at Ramza and seemed positively furious, much to Cloud's amusement because Ramza was oblivious.

_'Wonder what's his problem? Could it be that he's j--no he can't be.' _He ignored the other man in favor of walking into the class and taking a seat near Ramza.

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Sephiroth seethed as he watched Cloud and Ramza walk into the class hand in hand. The beautiful blue eyes of _his _blonde--not the stupid, damned other one--met his briefly but ignored him in favor of the blonde brat. He had never really hated Ramza before. The boy was smart, talented, polite, kind...Sephiroth could go on and on. Even though he looked small and weak--the source of all the teasing--he was actually a tactical genius and had a skill which Sephiroth called_ 'the Jack of all trades' _since he could use so many different fighting styles. Sephiroth used to respect him greatly and had even told the other cadets to buzz off and leave the small blonde alone but now--now he _hated _Ramza. Zack gulped as he thought of all the murderous thoughts going through Sephiroth's mind.

_'I'd better try and tell him again...'_ Zack thought but he couldn't help but feel a little afraid. Sephiroth was quite the dangerous human being.

"Er Seph--" He began slowly and gulped when the angry--jealous--emerald eyes turned towards him.

"What?" It sounded more like a threat than a question and Zack hesitated before deciding that he _had _to do it.

"You know you don't have to worry about Ra--" But the teacher of the SOLDIER prep class cut him off. Vincent Valentine was a brooding man who slightly resembled Sephiroth--a fact Sephiroth always denied--and he was the teacher of the SOLDIER prep class. Sephiroth was the top student in the class so he always got attention from the man--or at least that's why he thought he got attention from the other man.

"Good morning class, today we will be partnering up for training so pick your partner and start. No rough-housing." It was said quietly but it instilled fear in the class. Vincent Valentine had _ways _to make his students listen to him. Scary ways--including but not limited to his pistol--the man was scary so Zack decided that perhaps he should wait till after class to inform Sephiroth of Ramza's secret. For now he decided he'd just partner up with Sephiroth to appease Vampi--er--Valentine-_sensei_.

"So Seph, do you wanna be--" Once again he was cut off but this time by an equally scary man, his own best friend, Sephiroth.

"No Zack, I've decided to have a different partner today." He said it so calmly that Zack nearly had a heart attack.

"Er who?" But his question was answered when Sephiroth went to Ramza and nearly tore him away from Cloud.

"Beoulve-_san_, would you do me the honor of being my partner?" He asked the oblivious blonde in a pseudo polite voice but the delicate boy didn't seem to notice and smiled at him.

"I do not mind. Cloud, you can be Fair-_san_'s partner since he does not have one." And Cloud nodded but his blue eyes were filled with hidden hurt, not at Ramza but at Sephiroth.

_'So that's why he kept glaring...and why he said he couldn't like me. He's in love with Ramza...I should have known.'_ But he shook the hurtful thoughts from his mind and berated himself for seeming like a jealous lover. He slowly walked over to the uncomfortable looking Zack--the strange man who had tried to glomp the life out of him just a day earlier--and waited.

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Ramza stared at Sephiroth with innocent brown eyes. Both of them were getting ready for the battle--Sephiroth with his Masamune and Ramza with his Ragnarok--but Ramza could already tell that this wouldn't just be a _'training'_ experience.

"Hojo-_san_, is something the matter?" Sephiroth rarely paired up with anyone other then Zack Fair so he was surprised when the man asked him to be his partner. And contrary to popular belief, Ramza was not an idiot--a little naive, someone dear to him used to say--but not an idiot, he had noticed the scathing glares that Sephiroth sent him.

"Nothing. Just _nothing_." Sephiroth practically spat out and Ramza wondered if this had anything to do with Cloud. Looking into Sephiroth's livid green eyes he realized something very important.

_'He is in love with--'_ But he didn't even get a chance to finish the thought before Sephiroth charged him. Ramza pulled Ragnarok up to block and did so, but just barely.

_'And so the battle begins.'_ He thought as he dragged his thoughts away from Sephiroth's possible love life and onto the fight.

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Cloud watched in horror as Sephiroth knocked Ramza to the ground yet again. His friend was trying valiantly to keep up with Sephiroth and while he did show talent, he was no match for Sephiroth's redoubtable skills. He turned to see Zack chewing his nails in worry while Valentine-_sensei_ seemed to be at a loss for what to do.

"Help him! You know damn well that this isn't a training match!" He yelled to anyone who could hear and it seemed everyone was as panicky as he was about the situation except that they were worst—they were _cowards_. He was about to go try and help himself when Valentine-_sensei _put out a hand to halt him.

"Wait. I want to see how things work out." He said it so calmly even though Cloud's _friend _had his life on the line.

"Fine. But at the first sign of things getting worst, not even you can stop me." He told the red-eyed man who--for a second--seemed to glare quite hatefully at him.

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"You love him, do you not?" Ramza asked Sephiroth whose eyes seemed to bulge out in shock.

"How did you--?" Sephiroth asked the blonde who seemed to look thoughtful.

"Your reaction just confirmed it for me. I can tell because I am in love as well. No matter how I try to deny it, I cannot stop loving him." He told Sephiroth criptically and the man glared at him a little.

_'Him? With Cloud?'_ Sephiroth wondered and the thought made him even angrier. Without waiting for the blonde to gather himself he attacked, catching Ramza by surprise. The boy tried to quickly block his attack but fell back onto his knees, his sword thrown away from him.

"I guess you win." Ramza told him calmly and he glared further at the blonde.

"It's not a guess since I really have won!" In his rage--and jealousy--Sephiroth made a somewhat stupid mistake and decided to take their fight a step further from training. The crowd watched on baited breaths and Zack gasped.

"He wouldn't really _kill _him right?" Zack whispered the question quietly, mostly to himself, but Cloud heard him and turned to look at him in fear.

"No way, not while I'm here! I don't know what his problem is but I won't let him kill my first friend!" With determination--and a bit of foolishness--Cloud grabbed Zack's heavy buster-sword off the floor and went between Sephiroth's attack and Ramza's prone form. The emerald-eyed man watched him in shock.

"Why would you--?" Sephiroth asked as he backed off. He watched Cloud help Ramza up with ill-contained jealousy.

"Are you a psycho? That was just training--how could you try to kill someone?" Sephiroth watched wide eyed as he was scolded but he wasn't the only person, "And you--" To Valentine-_sensei_, "What the _hell _kind of teacher are you? Ramza could have been seriously hurt! The rest of you morons didn't do anything either!" Everyone was surprised by the blonde's intense huffiness but he didn't back down. He turned to Zack last and the black-haired man gulped guiltily, wondering what the blonde would scold him for.

_'Not stopping Sephiroth from making a mistake? Not telling him the truth earlier? What? The suspense is killing me?'_ Zack thought while chewing his nails nervously--a habit he had to get out of--when the blonde surprised him.

"Why the hell is your sword so _heavy_?" Cloud knew the question was stupid but he had to know. The silliness of the question broke the tense atmosphere and Zack began to laugh.

"Looks like you've got some spunk after all and here I thought you were just a shy little thing! Sephiroth doesn't know what he's gotten himself into." He pulled Cloud into a hug and rubbed the top of his blonde spikes soothingly, as if comforting an angry kitten.

_'Again with the weird Sephiroth comments. Does everyone know Squall told him to take me under his wing? How embarrassing...' _Cloud fumed and Sephiroth averted his eyes but not before sending Zack a heated glare. Valentine-_sensei _took that opportunity to clear his throat.

"I'm very sorry that I wasn't up-to-par..." He told Cloud calmly and the blonde realized that most people didn't know his name yet.

"Cloud...Cloud Strife." He told the teacher just as calmly and the rest of the class watched, they were impressed by his courage.

"Well Strife-_san_, I apologize yet again. And to you Beoulve-_san_, I apologize as well. I wasn't aware how _serious _this was getting to be." Neither Ramza nor Cloud could tell if he was being sarcastic but Cloud was forced to accept the teacher's apology when Ramza did.

"Thank you for defending me Cloud but I am fine. A little bruised but not terribly hurt." He accepted Cloud's helping hand and the pass to go see Rosa-_san_, the school nurse.

"I shall see you at lunch Cloud. I hope my beating didn't ruin your first day." He told this to Cloud gently as if Cloud were the one who was hurt. Cloud only smiled and agreed to meet him at lunch and sent him on his way. Then the blonde turned to Sephiroth who winced visibly.

"I need to talk to you later!" The silver-haired man quickly agreed to the proposal and the class went on as usual though more than a few students were amused by Sephiroth's fear of the small blonde.

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"Be careful will you?" Nurse Rosa told Ramza who nodded and winced as she placed an ice bag on his bruising cheek. When Sephiroth fought, he fought _hard _and Ramza had the proof for it...or at least his body did.

"Alright, I'm letting you return to class but I'm going to tell Valentine-_sensei _to ease up on you for a few days." Now Ramza didn't think it was fair that he was being babied for a few bruises but he didn't want to be rude so he nodded again.

"Of course Rosa-_san_." He told her politely and she squealed at his cuteness.

"You remind me of my old friend Cecil, he was awfully polite all the time too. But his lover was a rough sort of person--also my friend, Kain--and soon Cecil wasn't the same adorably polite darling anymore. They're perfect for each other, so it's fine. Plus he's still adorable!" Ramza didn't know what to say to that but he smiled at her cutely. He had learned from a young age that girls--and some guys too--had a way of following his whim if only he smiled. Besides, Rosa-_san_ reminded him of his sister so he allowed her to squeal over him and hug him, whom she seemed to do, and quite a _lot_ at that.

"Well now, off you go!" She said, placing a sweet kiss on his forehead and letting him run off.

"Good bye Rosa-_san_." Once Ramza was out the door he sighed and thought of his sister.

_'I miss Alma a lot. I don't miss anyone else but I miss her. Well...maybe one other person...oh Delita.'_ The thoughts of the older boy did nothing to comfort him and he quickly walked back to class, shivering slightly when a strange feeling passed through him. He didn't notice that someone was following him and that the person stared at him with sad, longing eyes.

_'Ramza, I'm going to fix things between us if it's the last thing I do!'_ The person thought with determination as they continued to follow him.

**SephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephy**

Sephiroth waited for Cloud wearily in the corner of the lunchroom. He saw _his_--yes his damn it, even if he did think he was a psycho--blonde talking to Ramza before turning and catching his eye. The blonde then said good-bye to Ramza and ran up to talk to him.

"What the hell was wrong with you today?" Cloud asked in a calm voice that barely contained his anger. Sephiroth sighed; the best thing to do now would be to tell the truth.

"I was..." He said softly and then hesitated prompting the blonde to urge him on.

"I was jealous. There I said it." He expected a lot of reactions from Cloud but bursting into tears weren't one of them. Though he was surprised when he took the blonde into his arms.

"I knew it, you're in love with Ramza aren't you?" Cloud cried and the tears just didn't--couldn't stop--he didn't know why he was crying over a guy he had only known for a day but he was in love with him and he couldn't bear to let go. Sephiroth was shocked that Cloud thought he was in love with Ramza so he decided to fix things between them.

"No my silly little chocobo, _you're_ the one I'm in love with!" He told Cloud softly and placed a chaste kiss on Cloud's cheek. Cloud looked up at him with wide, shocked eyes.

"But yesterday...yesterday you said--" Sephiroth cut him off by placing a gentle finger on his lips.

"I know what I said and I'm sorry...I _really _love you Cloud." He told the blonde apologetically and Cloud stared at him thoughtfully before pulling away and turning around with his arms crossed.

"Sorry doesn't cut it." He told Sephiroth coldly and the silver haired man bowed his head in shame until he felt Cloud's small hand tilting his chin up gently and met the sparkling eyes and smiling mouth.

"But a solid _'I love you'_ does." Cloud smiled lovingly and grabbed Sephiroth by the collar, pulling him into a soft kiss. So locked in their passion, the too boys didn't notice the red eyes watching them.

_'Sephiroth...I want to have a place in your life...I __**love **__you.'_ And with that, the red-eyed man disappeared into the shadows, his eyes never once leaving the happy young couple.

**SephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephySephy**

A/N: And so the drama kicks in. This chapter was really long! About ten pages on microsoft word, maybe more, so I hope this will make you forgive me for letting the last chapter be short. This chapter is also really dramatic and I bet you can't wait to see how I tie up all the loose ends.

Questions for the next chapter: Who is Ramza's mysterious lover? Who is he leaving behind? What is Cloud's traumatic problem? What is the issue that Squall has with his father? And most of all, who is the mysterious red-eyed man who claims to love Sephiroth? Could he be a rival to Cloud? _Maybe _I'll answer next time...or _maybe _not. Tune in to find out!

PS: I thought this chapter got a little boring towards the end--if it did I'm sorry--so tell me your reactions.

R&R: If you do, I'll try to write a sexy lemon!


	5. Understanding

Big Brother Sephy

A/N: Sorry I took so long to update–I've just felt so lazy. In fact, you still wouldn't have an update if it weren't for Saruvi who kicked my sorry but into gear. Go thank her. XD Personally, I didn't find the last chapter up to par so I hope to amend it here. Might not be as long though, sorry.

PS: You guys never commented on my SephyxCloud pics that I drew for you to enjoy. Cloud in chocobo Pjs and Sephy shirtless, don't you want to see that? I admit, I'm not the best artist but...it's still cute so go to my gallery. I fixed all the faulty links on my profile so everything should be ok. Also, I started writing a new original story on fictionpress called Love is Blind and I want more feedback so if you guys like this and have a fictionpress account, please go review that or I won't love you any more. Just kidding, I'll always love you guys. :) You can find the link to my fictionpress and DeviantArt account on my profile.

BETA: Animefira001. Please love her, she edits all my sucky mistakes. XD

Thank you: Greyfox: chunky monkey? XD I like that. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope I don't disappoint you with this one.

I also thank people who put this on their story alerts or favorite stories and those who put me on their favorite authors or author alerts. You guys flatter me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters but I wish I did. If any of you love me enough to buy Final Fantasy for me, go ahead and do it. I'll dedicate the whole story to you if you do. XD

Warnings: The usual.

READ THIS: I promised a lemon if you guys reviewed last chapter and you did so I'm going to give it to you. I posted it separately on my LJ though because an explicit sexual situation is against the rules here so if you're old enough and wanna read a lemon, follow this link(without the spaces): http: / angel-gospel . livejournal . com/4980 . html

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**Chapter Five: Understanding**

Cloud woke up in a panic, running quickly to his bathroom so he could stare at the person who he hated the most–at the moment it was himself. Wide blue eyes stared back at him and he asked himself a very important question.

'_What have I done? What have I done? What the __**hell **__have I done!?' _His thoughts were in a complete frenzy and the reason was a certain green-eyed neighbor. Said neighbor had confessed to him the day before at school and–like the complete idiot Cloud knew himself to be–he had accepted. After only a day of knowing the man.

"Why did I do that? Am I that desperate for attention?" While Cloud did admit that he might have just accepted the man's feelings because his own life was in turmoil and he wanted something nice in it, he couldn't deny the somersaults his stomach did when he thought of the other man.

'_You are in love, my little Cloudy, so just accept it.'_ His mother intoned and he nodded his head. Thinking of her only brought tears to his eyes but, she did have a point. A valid point.

"I could fall in love with this man." Cloud told his horrified reflection but then another thought occurred to him. "But I don't know if our love is true. How can it be after only a day?" The thought brought tears to his eyes and his lips quivered but he swiped at the forming tears and filled his eyes with determination.

"I am going to find out what love really is from people who know about it!" He told his reflection with determination shining in his blue eyes. "And then I'll figure out if what's between Sephiroth and I is real." He nodded his head for emphasis and sighed when the reflection did it too.

"Kami-_sama_, now you're talking to mirrors Cloud? GAH!" He tore at his spikey locks in irritation before taking a cursory look at the alarm clock. It read 5:30. "Guess I'll just have an early day." With that he began his morning rituals–an hour early.

After taking a shower Cloud put on his uniform and, gathering the SOLDIER cadet uniform in another carry-on bag, proceeded downstairs for breakfast. While cooking he let his thoughts wander back to his situation with Sephiroth. He had told his reflection that he would find out about love from people who knew about it so...who could he ask? Sephiroth's friend–the strange spiky haired one–Zack had told him that both he and Aeris–Sephiroth's other friend who was very pretty–would be willing to listen to anything he had to say because he was one of _them _now, but Cloud didn't feel very comfortable telling Sephiroth's friends that he was unsure about his feelings for someone they probably cared about a lot. And he couldn't very well ask Sephiroth now could he? Or Seifer--even though the large man had called him family–that would just be too _weird_. Squall and Ramza were the only people he truly felt comfortable with so he resolved to talk to them. He bit his lip and pondered as to whether he should call his cousin.

'_It couldn't hurt to try, now could it?'_ He asked himself reassuringly as he dialed the familiar number. He only had to wait a second before someone picked up the phone and he heard a tired voice ask hello. Cloud bit his lip guiltily and wondered if he had woken his cousin up. Oh well, too late for regrets.

"Hello? Squall?" He started off shyly, wondering if his cousin was still upset about the day before. He had asked Seifer to give the brunet a hug after the two blondes had a heart-to-heart talk but...maybe he was still angry?

"Cloud?" His cousin's voice asked worriedly. "What's the matter?" What was the matter, Cloud wondered as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about yesterday..." He began with a truly regretful tone and he heard Squall sigh in relief. "And...I was wondering...would you come over now? You don't have to--" But he was cut off by a swift yes before his cousin snapped the phone shut. The dial tone sounded oddly comforting, reminding him that no matter how much they fought, his cousin would still care about him. The thought brought a small smile to his face and the remained throughout his whole breakfast. Thoughtfully, he saved some for his cousin, knowing the brunet would rush right over. As the thought passed through his head, he heard a knock: quiet yet efficient, just like Squall. He opened the door with a smile that was soon hidden in the mounds of Squall's leather jacket.

"What's wrong Cloud?" The worried grey eyes bore into him and made him swallow dryly. "Are you thinking about what happened with your mother? Oh Cloud, you are moving in with Seifer and I _today_! I can't believe I left you alone for as long as I did." Cloud rolled his eyes and tried to hide the smile that was forming on his lips.

"Squall, I've been alone for _only _two days–scratch that–two nights since I've seen you during the day. I don't need to move out. And you don't need to worry...it's not a problem related to _that_." His smile left at the reminder of his mother but he quickly brightened himself before his cousin could feel it. He still owed his cousin an apology. "And I wanted to say that I'm sorry." He bowed his head down in shame but looked back up quickly when he heard Squall laugh.

"It's ok, I forgive you. Seifer told me that you wanted to give me a hug–hence what I did when I first came in–and he added that you wanted me to have sex with him...I'm pretty sure you didn't add that...did you?" Cloud laughed and wondered if Seifer ever thought of anything _other _than sex. Oh well, as long as Squall loved the big oaf...speaking of love. He began to fiddle with his shirt again and avoided Squall's eyes. "What's the matter?" There was that mother-lion concern again. Cloud sighed and opted to just tell the truth.

"I need help with something..." Squall eyed him wearily when he began to blush but thankfully remained silent. "How do you know...that you _love _Seifer?" Squall blinked at him before a blush similar to Cloud's own filled his face.

"Why do you ask?" He asked in a voice that sounded a little squeaky and Cloud bit his lip shyly.

"I need to know if I love someone and whether I made the right decision in an important situation." Cloud sounded very mature and Squall blinked once more before nodding.

"Well, Seifer is irritating and perverted and a glutton..." Cloud blinked, he didn't think he'd asked his cousin to name Seifer's bad side. "But he's also kind and gentle and he makes me smile. He makes my heart flutter so _hard _against my ribs and I used to feel intimidated because he was so huge–like he could break me if he wanted to–but now I love the feeling of being wrapped up in his embrace. He's careful with me too, as if I were made of glass, which should annoy me since I am the Commander of SEED but it doesn't." Cloud stared at his cousin in awe and thought about his own feelings for Sephiroth. He did feel the same way about the green-eyed man sometimes.

"And Seifer is good in bed and irritates Loire." It seems Squall added the last part just to make Cloud smile and it worked. The blonde did feel somewhat uncomfortable when Squall mentioned Loire but after the tactless way he had broached the subject the day before, he decided against it.

"You are such a whore Squall." He teased and smiled at the way the brunet looked so flustered. He offered Squall a plate of breakfast as an apology before another question popped into his head. "Where _is _Seifer?" Squall flushed and fidgeted and Cloud couldn't help but wonder _why_.

"Well...he's been so good with putting up with me while I'm er...PMS-ing as he calls it, that I offered him a little _reward_. He was still asleep when I left but he should be arriving soon." Oh, so that's why he's flushing, Cloud thought with a smile and Squall looked embarrassed for a second before they both began to laugh. They were cut off by a loud knocking at the door. Both boys smiled at each other, sharing a private joke, before Squall got up to open the door. As soon as he did, he was pulled into a one-armed hug by Seifer.

"Muffin, where were you in the morning? I give you great sex and all I get is a _note_? You'd never believe how heart broken I was this morning when I woke up to a cold bed and an even colder note!" Squall rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's dramatics but appropriately placed a kiss on the larger man's lips as apology. Cloud watched the whole exchange nervously and wondered if he should come up with a nickname for Sephiroth...after all, Seifer seemed to have a billion nicknames for Squall. He remained nervous throughout the whole ride to school until he was dropped off and saw Ramza. The other boy's motherly smile made him think that everything would be okay.

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Cloud may have woken up that morning with a dark cloud over his head but Sephiroth woke up with a smile. Something he hadn't done since he had met the blonde which, in Cloud's defense, was only two days ago, only _one _night. It was still the worst night of Sephiroth's life though, so he had a right to be unhappy when thinking about it. Now, he had no reason to be unhappy. He had his family, he had his friends, and most of all...he had Cloud. Thinking of the blonde angel, and their _adventure_ at school the day before, made him smirk. While what they had done the day before wasn't quite what happened in his dream, it was still a really good make out session.

'_I wonder if we can do it again today?' _His smirk had widened to Cheshire-cat potential and he could stop the happiness he felt. _'Of course we can, what am I saying, we're __**lovers **__now.'_ That thought made him smile even further. Maybe, sometime soon, he and Cloud could–he shook himself out of his hormonal thoughts when he heard a knock at the door. He stretched his limbs and wondered if he should pull on a shirt before opening the door but decided not to bother. Whoever was knocking was just asking for it. It was probably just Zack or Aeris or his brothers...they'd all seen him like this before so it didn't matter. He was surprised, however, when he opened the door and it turned out to be...Valentine-_sensei_. The man was being led into his room by Yazoo but Sephiroth didn't notice because he was too busy staring.

"Valentine-_sensei_, what are you doing here?" Sephiroth asked when he finally mustered up his wits. The man was staring at Yazoo with a strange sort of longing and gave Sephiroth the same look when he heard the silver-haired boy speak. Sephiroth felt very uncomfortable under that look, as if Valentine could look through him and in him.

"I'm sorry to meet you so abruptly Hojo-_kun_," Valentine-_sensei_ began and Sephiroth stared at him in surprise. The uptight teacher never got to close to his students and so the title _kun_ was almost never used. "But I was a bit worried about you." What was there to be worried about?

"Worried about me? What, you mean for yesterday? I think you should worry more about Beoulve-_san_...he's the one that got hurt." This whole day–and it was only morning so far–was making his head hurt. Why was Valentine-_sensei_ coming to Sephiroth when he had been the one to fly off the handle yesterday? He should be checking on Ramza or no one at all since the young blonde was only a little bruised, no one really needed to worry. If any thing, Sephiroth was _happy_. He had a boyfriend now thanks to the little _skirmish _yesterday, what more could he ask for? "I'm actually quite satisfied with what happened yesterday." Vincent looked flustered but quickly reassembled his mask of apathy.

"I'd still like to give you a ride to school, if that isn't a problem?" Sephiroth wondered if it was possible to refuse, after all wasn't it a little strange for a teacher to offer his student a ride to school? For all Sephiroth knew–Valentine could have a thing for teenaged boys but then again, Sephiroth knew he could take care of himself so he just shrugged.

'_What could it hurt? Better leave Zack with my keys though or he'll never make it to school...or maybe Valentine-__**sensei **__can take Zack too?_'With these thoughts in mind Sephiroth nodded and, after pulling on a shirt, he told the teacher to wait for him in the kitchen. "I'm going to take a shower and meet you downstairs. You can go ahead and have some breakfast with Zack, Aeris, and the kids." When Sephiroth got out of the shower he found Valentine-_sensei_ over a stove. The man looked exasperated, Zack and Aeris just looked confused.

"I can't believe you allow your brothers to eat cereal _every _single day!" The teacher told Sephiroth and the silver-haired boy's eye began to twitch.

"They like cereal, right Yazoo?" Said brother nodded and looked mournfully at the cupboard where he knew the boxes of cereal to be.

"Well, I am making them a _proper _breakfast." Valentine-_sensei_ declared in an apathetic voice. Sephiroth couldn't help but wonder why the man sounded as if he had no emotions...kind of like Yazoo.

'_Come to think of it, Sensei and Yazoo have a lot in common...strange.' _But he ignored the thought in favor of watching his teacher. The man appeared to be cooking breakfast for them. That was also strange. He turned to watch his brothers' reactions and saw that Kadaj was happily digging in a bowl of fruit that the other man had apparently given him. "We have fruit in the house?" Valentine-_sensei _seemed shocked by the question–or as shocked as he could be which meant he blinked, once, in confusion.

"Yes, there is, along with a lot of other _healthy _foods that children should eat." Sephiroth ignored the emphasis he put on healthy to gauge Loz's reaction to this mothering. He already knew Yazoo was upset by the no cereal declaration. Loz was staring at Valentine-sensei with wide eyes that sparkled in fear and he appeared to be chanting something under his breath. Sephiroth moved closer to him to hear.

"_Vampire...vampire...vampire...vampire..._" The boy was saying, as if it were a mantra. Sephiroth shot Zack, who had been otherwise silent, a scathing glare and the other boy smiled sheepishly.

"Been talking to Loz, have you Zack?" The other boy swallowed dryly and nodded in a guilty manner. Aeris, who had heard them, gasped and smaked the spiky-haired boy upside the head.

"Zack!" She admonished maternally and Zack bowed his head in shame. Sephiroth was originally going to scold him too but now the man just smirked and sat back to watch the show.

"I'm sorry! Sorry Seph, I won't do it again." Sephiroth smiled dangerously in a way that said: you'd-better-not but the moment ended when Valentine-_sensei_ said 'done' in his regular monotonous voice. He brought out plates of different foods for the people at the table and Sephiroth was surprised to find that the man was actually a good cook. Even Yazoo and Loz enjoyed the meal.

"Dracula-_san_ is a good cook." Loz told the black-haired man cheerily, his earlier fear completely forgotten because of the food. Sephiroth gave him a scolding look and he withered.

"Loz, that was very impolite--" Sephiroth began but was cut off by a light chuckle from Valentine-_sensei_. Everyone turned to the man in surprise.

"It's perfectly fine, children have _wild _imaginations after all." Zack whistled innocently and Sephiroth shot him another glare that quickly silenced him. "Well, we must be going. I assume you will watch the children, pretty miss?" Aeris flushed and Zack growled slightly but Sephiroth began to drag him out.

"Zack will be coming with us if you don't mind, Sensei, because he has no car." Zack was sure he saw the teacher _glare _hatefully at him for a second but as soon as it was there, it was gone so he thought he must have imagined it.

"Of course." The man said calmly and slowly pulled a pair of keys. Sephiroth nodded at his answer but made no move to leave, prompting the Sensei to look questioningly at him.

"We have to wait for Sq–Commander Leonhart of GARDEN to pick Loz up. He should be here soon, he's always on time." Once Valentine-_sensei_ nodded he called out to Loz. "Loz, come in here to wait for the Commander." Loz ran in almost immediately and Sephiroth saw his teacher flash the boy an affectionate smile from the corner of his eyes. After waiting for a few moment they heard the knock at the door that they'd been waiting for. Sephiroth opened up the door and let the young Commander through the door.

"Time to go Loz." The young man said, after greeting everyone politely. "Take care of Cloud please." Sephiroth nodded and smiled genuinely but Zack saw that Valentine-_sensei_'s whole mouth was drawn into a frown. The brunet nodded once more and pulled Loz out to his car. When they left, Sephiroth and the others came out. Sephiroth yelled back a quick 'bye' before closing the door. In his front yard he saw a large mini-van, the type a family man would have. Surely it couldn't be Valentine-_sensei_'s car? Zack whistled in surprise.

"And here I thought he drove the bat-mobile." Sephiroth elbowed the boy in the ribs to shut him up but privately he agreed. The vampire-like teacher either didn't hear or didn't care about what Zack said because he only unlocked the doors. Upon noticing their skeptical looks he smiled and explained.

"I always wanted a big family, you might not expect it from a guy like me, but I have." Sephiroth heard such longing in the voice that he felt the need to comfort the man.

"I'm sure you will someday." He told the man who smiled at his kindness and ushered them in happily–less so for Zack.

"Someday may be sooner than you think," The red-eyed man whispered quietly as they got into the car, so no one would hear. "My dear Sephiroth."

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Cloud smiled widely–and a little unsurely–as he walked up to the other blonde. Ramza waited patiently for Cloud to walk over before taking his hand_. 'Ramza sure loves holding hands...but I can't complain because it feels nice–natural.'_ Cloud's thought caused him to blush and Ramza turned to him curiously.

"What is the matter Cloud?" His large brown eyes were filled with worry and that, in turn, filled Cloud with guilt. He couldn't tell Ramza that he reminded him of his mother though, so he just shook his head and smiled.

"Nothing...I just wanted to ask you a question." Now this was the embarrassing part. Ramza blinked at him cutely but nodded his head in assent. "Have you ever...have you ever been in _love_?" He whispered the word love but Ramza apparently heard him and the other boy froze up. The expression 'dear-in-the-headlights' passed through Cloud's mind as he looked at the younger boy. "You don't have to answer." But Ramza shook his head and curled a string of hair onto his finger.

"I should answer. It is only proper as we are friends and friends should help each other." Even though he said this, Ramza still seemed uncomfortable and his eyes were strangely blank. "I have been in love before and...love is--" He was cut off by another voice, deeper and more melodious.

"Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it, everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do willcherish it, be lost in it, andamong all,never...neverforgetit." The voice belonged to a brown haired boy with a red trench coat on. Cloud vaguely remembered thinking that he kind of resembled his cousin. Cloud also remembered thinking that he looked a little intimidating but Ramza gave the other boy a bright smile.

"Hello Rhapsodos-_san_, how is the play going?" Before Cloud could ask what play they were talking about, Ramza turned to him to explain. "Rhapsodos-_san_ is the President of the Drama club." Cloud smiled wearily at the man and rose to shake his hand but his gesture was ignored.

"The play? It goes as well as it may I suppose." He was silent for a second before he answered again with the same mysterious voice he used to explain love. "Life is like a stage and we are all actors, manipulated to follow the whims of a wicked playwright. Don't let yourself fall into that trap." He said this to Cloud and the blonde blinked at his disappearing back in consternation.

"What the hell was that about?" Ramza placed a comforting hand on his arm to soothe him.

"Worry not Cloud, he means you know harm. Genesis Rhapsodos is the President of the Drama club, as I told you earlier, and he may seem to be a little strange but he is actually a good person. I like discussing fine works of Literature with him." Ah, Cloud thought, so the drama thing is to blame for his strangeness? Oh well. "But he is right about one thing Cloud. Love is an obsession and when you love someone, you give them the power to hurt you but I want you to remember, you also give them the power to lick your wounds."

'_Why does everybody have to speak so cryptically with me? __**I'm **__not a genius. GAH!'_ Thou Cloud was internally having this conversation he only hm-ed out loud. "What does that mean?" Ramza smiled at him and pat him on the head.

"Silly Cloud, it means, if Sephiroth does something that should _not _hurt you but _does_, then you have very strong feelings for him." Cloud remembered how jealous he had felt when he had thought that Sephiroth was in love with the boy sitting before him. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Hey, I never said that I liked Sephiroth!" To his surprise, Ramza began to laugh. Cloud looked flustered for a second before smiling a little as well. "What's so funny."

"What is funny is, you two could not be any more obvious...and the whole school saw you kissing." The blonde at least had the decency to flush when he mentioned Cloud and Sephiroth's romantic escapade...good because Cloud didn't want to be the only one–his own face was as red as a cherry. Ramza blinked at his face cutely before suddenly poking Cloud's nose. Both blondes stared at each other before bursting into laughter. The laughter only stopped when they heard their peers talking loudly about something that happened.

"_Look at that teacher, he's--"_

"_Isn't that!?"_

"_It couldn't be--"_

"Is that man Valentine-_sensei_?"Ramza asked and Cloud saw the man opening a car door, apparently his own car though it didn't seem like his kind of ride, and Zack–Sephiroth's strange friend–popped out. The black haired boy looked oddly uncomfortable but Cloud could understand why. The air was buzzing with rumors.

"_Do you think that it's a teacher/student relationship?"_

"It's just a rumor." Cloud told Ramza with finality, about to turn around and ignore the situation all together when he heard a sharp intake of breath. He turned around and the world fell apart around him.Sephiroth was getting out of the car, and while the green-eyed man looked oblivious, the look in their teacher's eyes was both loving and longing. Even he, who was relatively clueless about being in love, knew what a look like _that _meant. For a second, Cloud couldn't breathe but Ramza placed a steadying arm around his waist and he leaned into the other boy gratefully.

"It is only a rumor Cloud." Even if both Ramza and he had said that earlier Cloud knew this to be anything _but _a rumor. He looked into the teacher's eyes one more time for confirmation and saw that they were directed towards him: heated and challenging. Cloud bit the inside of his cheek and turned away, burying his face in Ramza's shoulder.

'_Someone I love can cause me immense pain,'_ Cloud's thoughts began bitterly. _'I guess I solved __**that **__problem but a new one has just begun.'_

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When Sephiroth arrived on the school grounds he was surprised and angry. The whole student body seemed to be before him, gossiping and judging, but they were not what riled up such emotions in him. He ignored his surroundings and focused on one thing and that one thing only. Cloud had his face buried on Ramza's neck, as if he were kissing it, and Ramza had one arm around Cloud's waist, the other was tangled in Cloud's blonde spikes. Sephiroth saw red.

"Hoo-boy, here we go again." Zack sighed and thought to himself as he watched the drama unfold.

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A/N: What did you guys think of the chapter? I rather liked it and I hope the people who thought that Sephiroth and Cloud's relationship was moving to fast are appeased. Can any one say RELATIONSHIP PROBLEMS? XD

HELP: I know this is stupid but I can't figure out how to do single-line-breaks. Help?

Some Links(Take Out The Spaces):

My original story, Love is Blind: _http : /www . fictionpress . com /s/ 2530030 /1/ LoveisBlind_

Sephiroth and Cloud pic in pajamas: _http : /angelgospel . deviantart . com /art/ SephyxCloud - 81483011_

Cute Cloud Pic: _http : / angelgospel . deviantart . com /art/ Shy-Cloud-80828953_

AND AGAIN I GIVE YOU THE SEIFERxSQUALL LEMON: _http : / angel-gospel . livejournal . com/4980 . html_

R&R: Anyway, enjoy my pretties and leave me lots of reviews.


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